Angel Investigations: The Next Generation
by kinoa
Summary: This story is the continuation of Angel Investigation but centers on the Connor years.
1. Chapter 1

**Angel Investigations:**

The Next Generation

Prologue: The ending of Redemption.

As Connor was watching the 11 o'clock news he was surprised to see a news report on what happened at the Hyperion.

**Reporter: "Today at 3:30 P.M. right after the owners of Angel Investigations renewed their wedding vows Angel Martin and his wife Cordelia Martin , of eighteen years, were killed while greeting their wedding guests and receiving their congratulations. Mr. Martin is a well known and respected Investigator and business man in Los Angeles. Although the murderer was captured before he could leave the Hotel where they had the ceremony they were unable to question him as to why he killed Mr. and Mrs. Martin since he was killed as he was being taken down to the precinct for questioning. The assailant is unknown. **

**Mr. and Mrs. Martin leave behind a family of 4 children. Connor Martin, Mr. Martins son from a previous marriage, is a former police officer with the L.A.P.D., a daughter, 16 year old Kathleen Martin and two twelve year old twin boys, Nicky and Mike Martin. We have been told that the son Connor Martin will be taking over the running of Angel Investigations. Funeral arrangements have not been made yet, but we were able to find out that Mr. and Mrs. Martin will be buried at the ancestral cemetery in Ireland. Our hearts and prayers go with the Martin children and friends. The family has asked if we would put up the name of the email address that they can be contacted at if you would like to attend the funeral.**"

In Kathleen's room Sean stood watch over his future bride. He had given her a tranquilizer so that she could sleep a deep, restful sleep that would be void of dreams. At 4 A.M. he woke up with a jerk when he almost fell off of the chair. He got up and kicked off his shoes and lay beside Kathleen and pulled her into his arms. She started talking in her sleep and said "Daddy I missed you where have you been?"

"Kathleen I am with your mother and we are with your two Grandmothers and your Aunt Kathleen. They are just like I remember them. When your Mother and I woke up we saw them waiting for us. Best of all Kathleen, Jesus was waiting for us with open arms. It was just like in the picture that Grandma gave us and is hanging from the 2nd floor balcony. I felt so much love coming from Him Kathleen. It made everything that I went through worth while. He hugged me for a long time and I had a feeling of such peace that I no longer worried about you, your brothers and the rest. Tell everyone that I want them to be at the supper table tonight and that is all that I can tell you for now. Tell Sean that I will be with him always so that I can guide him and teach him but it is up to him to listen to me and learn. Goodbye my princes." "Goodbye Daddy." Kathleen was silent then and her breathing told Sean that she had slipped into a deeper sleep.

She didn't wake up again until 8 o'clock that morning. She could hear everyone else getting up also. Best of all she could smell breakfast. She had been surprised to see Sean by her side and with his arms around her when she opened her eyes. For some reason Kathleen felt happy this morning so she took a chance and reached up and kissed him. He opened his eyes and kissed her back. Your mighty happy today, did Angel come to see you last night?" "Yes he did and he said that they are very happy because my two Grandmothers and Aunt Kathleen came to get them when they woke up after dieing. He said that Jesus greeted him just like in the picture that hangs from the 2nd story balcony. I am going to take a shower and get dressed so that I can tell Connor and the rest what Daddy said. You better go to your room before people start talking." She gave him a kiss then ran into the bathroom.

Everyone was more cheerful as they greeted each other in the hallway and in the dinning room. Through mutual consent they left Angel's and Cordelia's chair empty. Connie had placed small bouquets of flowers in their plates. When it came time for Giles to sit down he found that his chair had been removed and his place setting was missing.

"Okay where am I supposed to sit?" "I think it's time now for you to take Dr. Martin's chair Giles." Wesley said as he stood and held the chair out for him. Giles hesitated at first then he sat down in the offered chair. Wesley sat down again.

Kathleen tapped her glass in order to get everyone's attention for the morning breakfast prayer. When everyone was quiet she started. "Dear Heavenly Father we want to thank you for this food that we are about to eat. Thank you for giving Connie the talent to make such delicious food but most of all Father we want to thank you for taking Daddy and Momma so quickly so that their suffering was so short. Amen." Everyone echoed her Amen then they started to eat their breakfast. When Kathleen could see that everyone was almost done she tapped her glass again.

"I have a message for everyone from Daddy." That got everyone's attention. When she saw everyone looking at her she said "Daddy came to visit me last night. He told me how happy they were and that Grandma Martin and Dr. Martin along with Aunt Kathleen where there when they woke up after leaving us. He told me how Jesus hugged him for a long time and how he felt so peaceful. He said all worry for us left his heart. He wanted me to tell everyone that they are to be here tonight for Supper and that is all he said, then he left me."

"You seem more cheerful this morning." Wesley said. "Yes, when I woke up I felt much better. I wasn't so sad anymore, I know that I can talk to Momma and Daddy whenever I want to and that they will hear me. When he left me he seemed to take away the sadness with him. That all consuming grief that I was feeling was gone."

"He came to me also and told me pretty much the same thing and like Kathleen I felt a lot better when he left." Connor said. Everyone else held up their hands and said "me too."

"Did anyone see Cordelia?" Fred asked. "I did." Both Nicky and Mike answered at the same time. "I did also. I mean Angel didn't come to me but Cordelia did. She told me the same thing that Angel told you Kathleen. She also told me that Angel and her were so happy that they both died together so that they wouldn't have to be apart for even a few days." Fred said. Wesley pulled her over to him when she started to cry a happy cry.

"Both Angel and Cordelia would shed a few tears whenever they would think of this time. The very thought of being separated for perhaps years would always make them cry. We are all going to miss them terribly, but at the same time we should be happy for them that they are together and that they are both in paradise with Jesus and the other half of Angel's family." Wesley said as he comforted Fred.

"Connor, Kathleen, Nicky and Mike I want you to know that I have arranged for your father and mother to be cremated already as your father requested. Bishop O'Connel will stay for the funeral mass then he will travel with us to Ireland so that we can have a private ceremony at the grave site. The funeral will take place at the church on Saturday at 6 p.m., I have it for this coming Saturday because I am getting a lot of e-mail from not only the Los Angeles area but from around the world. The date of the funeral will give everyone time to arrive in L.A.

Connor I need for you to come with me to my office so that we can establish a link between you and the Law firms that have been handling your father's money. Your father placed the care of all of his finances into my hands but he could give instructions to the Lawyers if he wanted something special done as he did before their wedding. Gunn, Angel wanted you to know that even after his death that you could continue to come to me at any time if you should need money to take care of your kids. He also wants you to know that he would send your son through college since he is destined to help the people of Angel Investigations. Nicky and Mike, Connor has been made your legal guardian. This means that you will answer to him for any trouble that you may get into either here, on the streets, or in school. Do you understand what I have told you?" "Yes Uncle Wesley." They both answered. "Since we all know what a softy your brother is when it comes to dealing with you two your sister Kathleen will have responsibility for you also and I think you remember how she is." Wesley said with a grin.

"Wesley has asked me to make the reservations to Ireland. So who is going besides Connor, Lou, Kathleen and the boys? I am pretty sure that Wesley and Fred are going but I didn't know about the children." Willow asked.

"I think that the children, except of course for Nicky and Mike, should stay here. It's a long flight and we won't be staying that long. Does everyone agree?" Wesley asked.

"I won't be going Connor and Wesley so I think that the kids will be safe here. I think that Sean and I can take care of anything that comes up besides Cylindia doesn't want to leave our son alone just yet." Gunn said.

"Can I have a show of hands then as to who is going so I can just count you?" Willow asked. Everyone but the Sanchez family, Gunn and his family, and Sean wanted to go. "That makes 10. I'll be going so that makes 11."

"Junior, could you come with us? You're like a brother to me since we grew up together and I would really like having you with me since Sean isn't going." Kathleen asked. Junior looked to his parents and Grandmother. Connie and Joaquin gave their okay along with his Grandmother. "I'll be coming also Willow." Junior said. "Okay then I'll let you know as soon as I can make the reservations. I suggest that everyone make sure that their Passports are in order." Everyone got up then and went to there own rooms or took care of the normal day to day business.

Fred and Kathleen went up to Cordelia and Angel's room to get all of their laundry that had to be cleaned. They didn't say anything as they stripped the bed of all of the sheets and took the towels down to the basement to be cleaned. As they separated the clothes Fred stopped as she stared at Cordelia's nightgown that she was going to wear last night. She had picked it up by mistake. She slowly sank to the floor and cried into the nightgown. Kathleen sat on the floor beside her as she started crying also. "She didn't even get a chance to wear it Kathleen. I went with her when she went shopping for this. She wanted a new one because she said that their wedding night would be the first as two humans. We went to Victoria Secrets to find a sexy pair of panties and bra for last night." Fred was crying so hard for her friend that she was missing already that her tiny frame shook with every sob. "Oh Kathleen, they didn't get to spend even one night together as a normal husband and wife." For thirty minutes they just sat on the floor and held each other as they cried. It wasn't so much as a cry for the death of Angel and Cordelia but that they would never see them again in a normal state. They cried for all of the good times that will no longer be possible.

Willow and Wesley were looking for Kathleen and were just starting to go upstairs when they heard Fred and her talking and crying. Willow stopped Wesley from going any further and turned and pushed him back downstairs. As they reached the Lobby he asked her why she stopped him from going to them. "Wesley they need to be able to cry over the loss of their friend and mother. Just leave them alone so that they can lean on each other and talk about Cordelia. From now on Kathleen will look to Fred for everything that she would have normally looked to Cordelia for." "I guess your right. I'll be in my office checking on everyone's passports. I am going to call Morgan to see if any of them are going to go to Ireland with us. There aren't enough rooms at the house so I have to make reservations for everyone. I'll see you later." Wesley went into his office and closed the doors. He stayed in there for the rest of the afternoon and came out only to get some hot tea to take back into his office. Connie made sandwiches for the boys and anyone else that came to the dinning room for lunch.

That evening she made a light supper of rice, chili beans, salad for anyone that wanted it and as usual plenty of tortillas. Everyone showed up as Angel asked. As they all sat back in there chairs drinking tea or coffee they felt a light breeze go through the dinning room. Connie, Joaquin and Grandma Lucinda came into the dining room when they felt the breeze. When they heard familiar footsteps coming down the stairs they all turned towards the lobby. Just as though nothing had happened Angel and Cordelia came walking towards the dinning room just as though they were coming down for Supper. Kathleen went running to her father and mother. Angel and Cordelia both raised their hands and told her to stop. "You cannot touch us because we are no longer alive and what you are seeing is more or less our spirits or souls." Kathleen sat down again next to Sean and he held onto her.

"We came to tell you how happy we are and to tell you not to be so sad over our death. God granted each of our prayers and allowed us to die together. Although we died a violent death neither one of us suffered since he shot us directly into our hearts." Angel said as he stood by Cordelia holding her hand all of the time.

"I didn't know what hit me because the blood supply to my brain was cut off so quickly. If I had continued to live though, I would have been in a lot of pain from a heart attack that I was having."

"Giles, Dr. Martin told me to tell you that she will see you soon but that Tom is to be sent to England so that he can learn about the Watchers Council. One day Tom you will take over from Giles and Wesley and head the Watchers Council. Wesley I have to tell you that your Father was killed by Wolfram & Hart last year because he failed in the mission that they hired him for, which was to kill me. He is paying now for the way that he treated you and your mother. He will not be punished for doing what he did when he came here and tried to kill Kathleen and I the first time because he was already starting to become unbalanced." While Angel was talking Cordelia had gone to her daughter and whispered something in her ear that was apparently very private.

Angel called Nicky to follow him over to the Lobby so that they could be alone. When Nicky came back he told Connor that their father wanted him to go and be with him for a few moments.

Connor went into Angel's office and sat down next to him on the couch. "This is your office now son, make it your own. I have complete faith in you that you will take care of everyone and your brothers. I wanted to talk to you because I believe your brother Nicky will give you a lot of problems as he grows up. I know this because he is just like me when I was young. My mother reminded me of all of the things that I did when I was young and compared them to what Nicky does now. The only advice that I can give you in handling him is to spare the rod, so to speak, because he doesn't respond well to scolding. Remember what Grandma said so often?" "Yes she said that you don't respond well to scolding and that she had to reprimand you differently." "Yes and she was right. At first when she would scold me it would remind me of when my father used to yell at me and I would automatically shut her out. But when she spoke to me with a calm voice I heard every word she said. Don't forget this Connor because you'll go a lot further with Nicky if you use Grandma's tactics. Let's go back now." Connor and Angel rejoined the others and Angel called Cordelia to his side.

"We have to go now, Wesley I know that you will take care of the family. We will count the days for you and Fred to join us. I can't begin to describe how happy we are here. I think Buffy has an idea as to what it is like. She had a small glimpse of it when she died. I'll be with you always Sean, take care of my princes. Goodbye everyone. Don't cry anymore just remember that we are very happy and be happy for us."

Everyone was light hearted when they left. As Angel and Cordelia asked there weren't anymore tears. Kathleen got up and started picking up plates. The rest of the women did the same while the men went outside to the garden area. Toby, Vicky and Angus followed them. Even the dogs felt like playing now. They had been quiet ever since Angel and Cordelia had been killed. The men all took seats outside. Connor went over to Angel's desk and pulled out the Jack Daniels then returned to the rest of the men. For the first time since Connor first got drunk and swore off drinking, he took a long swallow from the bottle and passed it on to Wesley. By the time they all had a drink the bottle was empty.

"I tell you one thing, Angel is dead but he still continues to pull rabbits out of his hat. I am going to miss him but I am envious of his happiness. He even gets to have the love of his life with him, the lucky bastard." Wesley said. They all started laughing then and talking about things that they all did together or individual experiences with him.

"Tomorrow Wesley I am going to ask Kathleen if she would like to go riding tomorrow. We haven't been riding for a long time plus I have to make arrangements for Santana to be cremated. Vince called me this morning to let me know that he died of an apparent heart attack during the night. I think that since Angel died Santana followed him." "How is Aunt Bee?" Wesley asked. "He said that she is okay and seems to have accepted Santana's death without any problem."

Kathleen came running to the back with a piece of paper in her hand. "I guess the PTB doesn't intend for us to get rusty. They sent me a vision and here is the address." Connor and everyone else except Wesley and Giles jumped up and ran to the weapons cabinet. Both Toby and Angus jumped into the van also. Angus had been watching Toby to see how he killed the Vampires and he was starting to do the same thing. Vicky of course stayed home with Fred when Kathleen told her to stay.

By the time they returned they all felt better. They had been able to take out all of their anger on the Vampires that they encountered. None of them realized it before but they had all been angry about not being able to do anything about the man that had killed Angel and Cordelia. They all slept more peacefully that night.

For the next several days Kathleen had them busy with her visions. It seemed that everyone was having a try at taking over L.A. since Angel was gone but Connor and the rest of the team were setting the record straight.

On the fifth day since Angel's and Cordelia's death Wesley was called and told that their ashes were ready. The funeral Mass was to take place the next day so Wesley and Connor went to pick them up. When they brought them home they were placed on the Alter of their private chapel until the Mass and then to Ireland and their finale resting place.

Chapter 1

When everyone returned home they found a tired looking group of men. Sean, Gunn, Tom and Junior along with two of Morgan's guards were sitting around the table having coffee. They all stood up as the Martin and Price family came in through the front.

Kathleen went to Sean. He kissed her on the forehead and hugged her. Sean didn't dare do anything else in front of Connor and Wesley. Wesley and Fred said hello to everyone then went upstairs to see their boys. It was after midnight so they were in bed but when they heard every one coming in they ran downstairs and met their parents halfway up the stairs. Even though the boys were teenagers now and stood almost as tall as Wesley and Fred they still gave them both hugs and kisses.

Toby, Vicky and Angus ran down the stairs and greeted Connor and Kathleen. Connor was knocked over by the weight of both Toby and Angus. Vicky had been taught not to jump up on Kathleen. Instead Kathleen kneeled on the floor and hugged her and let her lick her face. Toby and Angus went to Kathleen then and Vicky went to greet Connor.

"I think it's time for us to go to bed now so I'll say goodnight to everyone. I'll talk to you about what's been going on tomorrow Gunn. Goodnight everyone." Connor said as he picked up Lou's and his luggage and made his way to the elevator.

"Connor, stop for a minute please." Joaquin and Connie came over to him and Lou. "Is everything okay?" Connor asked.

"Connor, first my mother wants me to ask you if you would like us to call you Connor or Mr. Martin now that you are head of Angel Investigation?" Joaquin asked.

"Call me Connor, my father was Mr. Martin." Connor smiled at them as he answered him.

"Okay Connor, I have to tell you then that Mr. Martin told Sean that we were to move your families things down into the bedroom that your father and Cordelia used since you were now the head of the family and you needed to vacate your old room so that Kathleen could have it." Connor looked at Lou. He hesitated; he felt that this move would be like he was in a rush to kick his father out of the hotel.

Wesley and Gunn came over and each took one piece of luggage. Wesley put his arm around Connor's shoulders. Connor looked at Gunn then at Wesley. "It's okay Connor. Trust your father's judgment on this." Wesley said. Wesley, Connor, Gunn, Lou, Connie, Joaquin and Kathleen went up to his new suite of rooms. Gunn opened the door and turned the light on then the rest followed him into the rooms.

Connor and Kathleen looked around the room and saw that all of Lou's and Connors things had been brought down and all of Angels and Cordelia's things had been removed.

"Where are their things?" Kathleen asked. "We've boxed everything and it is waiting downstairs in the basement for you to go through." Connie answered.

Everyone's eyes rested on the private portrait that Angel had painted for just him and Cordelia to see all of the time.

"Kathleen, since Dad painted this portrait for Cordelia I think you should keep it in your room. We can hang it up tomorrow." Connor said as he looked at his sister with tears in his eyes. Kathleen went to him and they hugged for a long time. She kissed him then said "Thank you Connor. I guess we should all go now so that you and Lou can go to bed." She gave Lou a kiss then left. Everyone followed her out and Joaquin closed the door behind him. It was late and everyone was tired so they went to bed. Toby and Angus were the only ones to stay with the new owners of Angel Investigation.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

At 10 A.M. everyone was at the dinning room table and having breakfast. The only difference was that Connor now sat at the end of the table in what used to be Angels chair. Giles had gone home with Buffy and Spike so that the other end of the table was empty. Sean and Hunter were the only Vampires requiring blood now. Sean had quickly become accustomed to the way that Cordelia used to fix it for Angel. Kathleen fixed his drink for him and waited on him as though they were already husband and wife.

One person was missing though. "Where is Nicky, Mike?" Connor asked. "He went to see some of the boys in Gunn's group early this morning." Mike answered after swallowing the food he had just shoved into his mouth. "Did he say when he would be back?" "Nah, he just said he was going to take the bus and go to the warehouse." "Can you sense him Kathleen?" "Yes, he's okay and doesn't seem to be getting into any trouble right now." "Gunn, if your going to the warehouse today would you check on him and tell him to get back here by lunch time. Fred and Kathleen are going to be taking them to get some new clothes for school which starts in a few weeks." Connor said.

"Sure, no problem. Do you want to go with me Mike?" "Yes, do you mind Connor?" "No go ahead." Connor and Kathleen looked at each other. They were kind of caught off guard by Mike's question. It was finally becoming a reality to them that they were the boy's guardians and they would now have the final word on what the boys did or could do. As the saying goes, 'The Buck Stops Here' now. They would no longer be able to hold the threat of informing Angel and Cordelia over there heads any longer. Connor was in his 30's now but all of a sudden he felt a lot older.

"Let's go to Wesley's office Gunn so you can let us both know what is going on since we've been gone." The men got up and left for Wesley's office.

"I need for you to come to the clinic with us Kathleen." Sean said. Without question she got up and followed him to the clinic. Hunter, Mike and Fred followed them. They all sat down around Fred and what was now Sean's desk.

"What's up?" Kathleen asked. "Kathleen we have been discussing the future of our clinic. As you know Sean was sent here to take Dr. Martin's and Mike's place and also God has chosen him for your future husband." Hunter said. Kathleen's ears turned red from embarrassment. "What we have been discussing though is the need for an RN that can double as an anesthesiologist. Since you finished with High School already we wanted to know if you would consider going onto Collage to become a Registered Nurse? Mike won't be able to help us much longer and we need an RN besides Cylindia since she is usually busy with Gunn's kids." Everyone was quiet and looking at Kathleen for an answer.

"Can I give you my answer at Supper today?" Kathleen asked. "Sure, take your time we know that this is a big, life altering decision." Hunter said. Kathleen looked at everyone. Mike was almost completely gray now and she knew that he spent as much time as he could with Hunter and their son. Kathleen got up and left to go into the chapel. Everyone knew that she had gone in to talk to Dr. Martin and her mother. She was in there for the next 3 hours. When she came out she went looking for Connor and found him, along with Wesley, in his office.

"Can I talk to you for a minute Connor?" "Sure, come in and have a seat." Kathleen came in and closed the door then took a seat at the couch. "I'm glad you're in here Uncle Wesley. Connor I have been asked by Hunter, Sean and Mike to go to Collage so that I could become an RN. They said that they need me to become an RN so that I can help them in the clinic and learn how to take care of the anesthesia when someone has to be operated on. If I do this then I won't be able to help you as much as I do now. What do you and Uncle Wesley think I should do?"

Wesley and Connor looked at each other and were quiet for a while. "I take it you've talked to Grandma, Dad and Cordelia about this?" "Yes I have and they say to do it." "I guess you have the answer then. Don't worry about how we'll get by because like Grandma always said, 'God will provide'. Connor said and got up and hugged his sister. "Don't worry about us Kathleen; we'll get by just like we always have." Connor said.

"You need to talk to Cylindia as soon as possible so that you can see about signing you up for the classes that you'll need." Wesley told her. "Since you already know Latin it will help you breeze through the language of medicine." "I'll talk to her right after supper." Kathleen said and got up and left.

Fortunately for Nicky he showed up for lunch. Connor finally said something about his brother's absence after everyone seemed to have finished their lunch.

"Did you have fun this morning Nicky?" Connor asked in a calm voice. "As a matter of fact I did big brother." Everyone noticed a hint of sarcasm in Nicky's voice. Connor counted to three. "That's good because Kathleen and Fred are taking you, Mike, David and Bobby to get some new clothes for school." All of the boys said at the same time, "Do we have too?" "Yes you do unless you want to deal with Kathleen. If your sister doesn't have a vision we can all go horseback riding when you get back. So the more you cooperate the faster you'll get back." Connor got up from the table to let the boys know that the discussion was at an end.

Connor picked up his son as he left the table. "Lou, I am going to take Daniel, Toby and Angus to go and pick up Santana's ashes. We'll be back afterwards." "Okay, I think I'll follow Fred to the mall so I can get some more clothes for Daniel. He's growing like a weed also." Kathleen and Fred went to their rooms to get ready to go shopping and were down in the Lobby in 15 minutes. When they arrived they found David and Bobby waiting for them along with Mike.

They took one look at them and sent them back upstairs to change and put some decent clothes on. When they came back down Lou came with them. One of the boys was missing though. "Where is Nicky, Mike?" Kathleen asked.

"He said he wasn't going and that you should just buy clothes that fit me because we're the same size." Mike couldn't look at his sister so he just turned away when he told her. "Where is he Mike?" Fred asked this time.

"He went to the warehouse again and said he wouldn't be home until Supper time." "Okay Mike we'll let Connor handle Nicky let's go." With that said they all piledinto Fred's van.Lou got into the van also since Nicky wasn't with them. For the next five hours they shopped until the boys almost mutinied. By the time they came back Fred was dragging while Lou and Kathleen faired just a little better. Meanwhile the boys still had plenty of energy and ran upstairs with their packages of new clothes to change into what they called their comfortable clothes.

Before Kathleen went up to her room she used her mind to search for Nicky. He wasn't in the Hotel but she did feel his well being. Fred guessed at what she was doing and asked, "Is he here?" "No but he seems to be alright. I think he is having a harder time then Mike is in accepting Momma's and Daddy's death. He's still feeling the loss real hard. Momma always said that Nicky was closer to Daddy then Mike was." They took a moment and sat down on the stairs.

"Momma said that even when he was a baby Nicky was always a problem until Daddy held him and then he would quiet down. Then when we punished him by forbidding him to play with the other boys for 2 weeks Daddy and Nicky did almost everything together during those weeks."

"I think it would be best to let Connor handle him first. Then when he finally breaks down and cries you can step in and hold him. I think that since you are built like your mother he'll accept you better afterwards." Fred told Kathleen. Both Kathleen and Lou looked at Fred. "You can sure tell that we were all trained by Momma." The women laughed then picked up the rest of their packages and went upstairs to their rooms.

Before sitting down for Supper Kathleen called Connor into his office. "Did Lou tell you that Nicky didn't go with us?" "Yeah and I don't know what to do with him. Would you go and ask Mrs. Sanchez to come to my office?" Kathleen went into the kitchen and asked Mrs. Sanchez if she would come to Connors office so they could talk to her about a problem they were having. When they went into the office Connor stood up and pointed to the couch and asked her to sit down.

"Is there a problem Connor?" Mrs. Sanchez asked.

"Yes there is and I was hoping you could help me. I don't know if you know this but we seem to be having a problem with Nicky. He doesn't want to do what I say and seems to be rebelling against my authority over him. Do you have any advice for me as to what you think his problem is and how I can handle it?" Connor asked. Kathleen was sitting next to Mrs. Sanchez as they waited for her to give them an answer to their problem.

"I think that Nicky is having a hard time letting go of his father. I don't think anyone ever noticed how close he had become to his father and he is missing him more than Mike is. He used to come into the kitchen and have a sandwich while watching me cut up meat or something and he would tell me how he talked to his father in his head so that so no one would hear what they were saying. He felt very special being able to do that. I think that that is what he is missing so much. He may never feel that connection with you Connor even though he desperately needs another man to be with him. Can you establish a link with him like your father did?" "No, only Kathleen can do that but I think it's like you said he needs another man. Kathleen, would you ask Sean if he can do it? Sean is tall and big like Dad was. Perhaps Nicky would feel more at ease with him since he looks a little like Dad and he is a Vampire." "I'll ask him tonight after Supper. Thank you Grandma Sanchez. You've been a big help." Kathleen said then stood up and opened the door and went to the dinning room table where everyone was gathering already. She noticed that Nicky was at his seat just as though nothing was wrong.

Connor went to his chair while Mrs. Sanchez returned to the kitchen. Joaquin brought out two mugs of blood for Hunter and Sean. After everyone was through eating the main course Connie cleared the dishes then came in with a large 10 inch 3 layered chocolate cake that she set in front of Sean. Everyone was watching him as he stared at it. "How did you know that I loved chocolate cakes?" "Junior told me after they came back from Ireland that Kathleen told him that it was one of the few foods that you could really taste. Now since I haven't made a chocolate cake since you've been here I thought you were long overdue." Sean cut a large slice and placed it on his plate along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that Joaquin had brought to the table. As he took a large bite of the cake he closed his eyes and slowly ran his tongue through the chocolate.

"That is almost as good as my first glass of blood was when I came out of hibernation." Sean continued to eat his cake and savor each bite as Connie sliced up the rest of the cake for everyone else. Kathleen liked to mix the cake up with the ice cream. She was busy doing this when she suddenly felt someone's eyes on her. She looked up and found Sean watching her.

"What are you doing? You're going to ruin the taste of the chocolate." Sean asked her. "I'm mixing the ice cream and cake together, it's how I like it." "But you won't get the full flavor of the chocolate then." When Sean took another bite of the cake he didn't see Kathleen pick up half of the cake. She put her hand on his arm and put it to her side so he couldn't see it. She waited for him to turn towards her. As he turned towards her she said "Just to make sure that none of the taste of the chocolate is lost here is half of my cake." Kathleen took the cake and smashed it into Sean's face.

Sean calmly put his arm around Kathleen's neck and pulled her towards him. "Come here my beloved and let me give you your first real kiss." Kathleen screamed as Sean kissed her while rubbing his face all over her face. All of the younger children were cheering Sean on while everyone else was laughing.

"You should know better then that by now Sean. Kathleen doesn't like to be told how to eat her cake and ice cream. I learned that as soon as she found out she liked eating her desert like that." Connor said as he ate his own desert. "What did she do?" Sean asked as he cleaned his face with the towel Connie had given him. "I can't remember what she said but I know it got me to jump over the table and go running after her. Of course I finally caught her and held her over the second floor balcony, like I usually do, until she promised not to say what she said anymore." "I thought she could outrun anyone." Sean said. "She can't outrun Lou, Hunter, Spike or myself since Cordelia was human and my mother was Dad's Sire. What she can do is transport herself from one place to another place close by. Dad and Cordelia told her that that wasn't fair when playing and she wasn't to do it anymore unless she was in a serious situation." Everyone was laughing at Kathleen. "So I'm giving you fair warning as to what she can do."

Sean wiped his hands again and said, "Doesn't play fair huh. I'll have to keep that in mind next time. Maybe I should start getting someone on my side to help me. Hey Mike and Nicky do you want to help me with fighting your sister? We don't have her powers so well have to win by numbers." "How are we going to do that?" Nicky asked.

"I can link up my mind with yours just like your father did, do you want to do it?" Unknown to everyone else Kathleen and Sean had already established a link between them and she had told him what her and Connor wanted him to do.

Nicky and Mike looked at each other. Both were reluctant. Nicky was the first to agree. "Okay, I'll do it." Sean went over to their side of the table and got down on one knee. "Okay Nicky turn towards me. You have to help me a little since we're not related by blood. Clear your mind then reach out for me and I'll more or less catch you." Nicky did as he said then when he was done with Nicky he turned to Mike after he agreed to do the same thing.

When Sean was done he stretched out his hand and said 'Team?' Both Nicky and Mike stacked their hands on top of Sean's and said 'Team'. "Let's give the team howl." Sean held back his head and started howling like a wolf which Nicky and Mike joined in on. Toby, Angus and Vicky came and joined in. After a minute of all of the racket Kathleen stood up and called a halt to the noise. "Alright, alright that's enough. I'll get back at you Sean, just you wait and see. I want you boys to go to your rooms and take all of the tags off of your new clothes then bring them down to the laundry room so we can wash them." All of the boys took their plates, glasses and silverware into the kitchen then went running up stairs.

"You guys are going to owe me big time for this. I may just be the first Vampire to die from being worn out." Sean said from the floor where he was sitting.

Wesley stood up and said "Sean and Connor would you come with me into my office please?" Wesley walked to his office without even looking back.

"Oooohhh! You're in trouble now." Gun said to Sean. Sean looked at Gunn and made a motion as though he was staking himself but still obediently followed Connor and Wesley.

Wesley was sitting at his desk while Connor was still standing and waiting for him to come in. Wesley pointed to the couch close to him. Sean took a seat where Wesley pointed and Connor sat close to him. "What's up?" Sean asked.

"I heard you call Kathleen your Beloved and you seem to have established a link with her already because I know that you haven't had a chance to talk by your selves after Kathleen and I talked to Mrs. Sanchez." Connor said.

"Yes we did establish a link between us and yes I did call her my Beloved. I know that you know what it means for a Vampire to call someone their Beloved. Kathleen and I knew that we were meant for each other from the time that we laid eyes on each other. Apparently it was also one of Henry's jobs to make sure that we connected also because I heard him say 'Done' before he left." "You haven't had sex yet have you?" Connor asked. "No Connor we haven't. I promised Cordelia that I wouldn't have sex with her until she was at least 18. Also I don't know if she has talked to you about this or not but I, Hunter and Mike have asked her to go to school to become an RN and she has agreed to this. We talked about it and she has asked me if we could wait to get married until after she graduates from college. I told her I might have a melt down but I agreed."

Connor and Wesley looked at each other in surprise. "I guess my little sister is going to be a very busy young lady for the next 3 or 4 years." Connor said. "I don't know about that with her IQ she may just complete it in 3 years or less. Plus she has all of these Doctors and an RN to help her. Plus she already knows Latin. Well Sean I guess I can expect the water bill to go up again." Wesley said as he stood up to leave. "Why would the water bill go up?" Sean asked as he followed him out the door. "I'll let Connor explain." Sean and Connor took a seat again while Connor explained how he had both Lou and Cordelia trying to get him to cave in and have sex with Lou before he graduated.

By the time they came out of the office everyone had helped to clear the table and were heading for their own rooms and families. Kathleen was the only one waiting for the men to come out of Wesley's office.

"Is everything okay Sean?" "Yes your brother and Uncle Wesley were just checking up on us. All I can say my dear is it's a good thing that you're the one that asked if we could wait to get married until you graduate because I don't think I could withstand all of the tricks your mother taught you on how to control a man and getting him to do what you wanted." "Don't worry Sean I don't want you to see all of the tricks Momma taught me. Otherwise you might go running out into the sunlight just to get away from me." She gave him a kiss on the cheek then turned to Connor. "I'll be going to UCLA early tomorrow with Cylindia and Fred tomorrow Connor. Cylindia said we need to sign me up for classes as soon as possible so well probably be gone all day with everything I have to do. Goodnight you two." Sean and Connor said goodnight and went to their own rooms.

At 2 a.m. Sean heard someone knocking at his door. He smelled the air and knew it was Kathleen. "Come in Kathleen." She opened the door and came in and whispered to him. "Sean Nicky is sick. Mike came to my room and told me his brother had thrown up and wasn't able to sleep because he is having a lot of pain in his side." "Okay, go and take his temperature and I'll be there in a minute." She closed the door behind her and went up to Nicky's room. She went to his medicine cabinet and pulled out the thermometer that her mother always kept in each of the kid's bathrooms.

"Nicky hold this thermometer under your tongue until I take it out okay?" "Okay." Kathleen put it under his tongue and waited for it to beep. Just as it beeped Sean came in. "What's his temperature?" "It's only 99." Kathleen got up so Sean could examine Nicky. When he pressed on his lower right side Nicky moaned in pain and started crying. "It looks like your appendix is inflamed and I'm going to have to take it out or it could burst." "Is it going to hurt?" Nicky asked as he wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. "You won't even know were taking it out because you'll be sleeping." Sean said. "You stay right here and I'll be back in a few minutes okay?" "Okay but don't be too long because it really hurts." Sean and Kathleen went out of the room and closed the door behind them and went to the second floor.

"Go and tell Hunter and Mike what is happening then wake up your brother and Wesley and let them know. I'm going to the clinic to get things started. Tell Connor to bring Nicky to the clinic." Sean went to the clinic and Kathleen went to Hunter and Mike then Wesley and Connor. Within the next 10 minutes Connor had Nicky in the clinic. Hunter and Mike came in shortly after. Mike was moving slower these days since he was now in his early seventies but he could still help by taking care of the anesthesia. He had Nicky out within the next 15 minutes and Hunter prepared him for surgery. After only 90 minutes they were through and Nicky was back in his bed. Sean kept watch over him through the night to make sure that there were no problems.

At 8 a.m. Nicky woke up to see Sean by his bed and watching him. "Did you do it yet?" "Yes we sure have; how are you feeling?" "I have to pee." "Okay let me help you up." Sean pulled the covers off of Nicky and helped him sit up and to the bathroom. He left him alone once he got him to the toilet but left the door open in case he needed him. Nicky did okay though and made his way back to his bed by himself. After he laid down Sean checked under the bandage. "Well it's apparent that you heal fast like Connor does. New skin has grown over where I had to cut you to get your appendix out but I want you to stay in bed at least for the morning." "I'm hungry can I have something to eat." "Sure I think I smell breakfast being cooked. I'll carry you downstairs for breakfast then you're to go right back to bed okay?" "Okay but I think I can walk." Sean put some sox on his feet and his slippers then his bathrobe. "Okay are you ready?" Nicky stood up carefully in answer and they proceeded to go downstairs carefully. Halfway down the stairs Nicky's knees began to buckle and Sean picked him

Kathleen got up and went to him. "How is my little brother doing?" Nicky looked and said through the link "Watch this." With the best poor me expression he could create he looked at his sister and said "Better than I was last night but I'm still hurting a lot. I was too weak to make all of the way down and that's why Sean had to carry me." Sean put him down by his chair and held on to him while Kathleen pulled the chair out for him and he sat down. "What would you like for breakfast? Connie made scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon and sausages. Or you could have cereal like oatmeal or Cream of Wheat." Kathleen said as she kneeled by his chair.

"Can I have some of that chocolate cake that we had last night?" "Anything you want my poor little brother." Kathleen pulled the napkin out from under his silverware and started to rub at something on her forehead. Nicky looked at Sean and smiled while Kathleen was rubbing at whatever it was she felt on her forehead.

"Did I get it all off Nicky?" "Get what off?" "The word STUPID that you seem to think is written on my forehead, now you'll have scrambled eggs, toast, sausages and a glass of milk and that's all." Everyone was laughing at him. "You should know by now that you can't pull one over on Kathleen Nicky." Connor said. "I know but I thought she would feel sorry for me and give me what ever I wanted like she said. You can't blame a guy for trying." Nicky said just as Kathleen brought over his breakfast then returned to her chair next to Sean. "Thank you Kathleen." "You're welcome Nicky. Did Sean tell you to stay in bed the rest of the day?" "No he said I could get up this afternoon." "Okay then make sure you do exactly as he said and I'll see you this afternoon when I get back." Kathleen finished her coffee which she had started drinking recently, gave Sean a kiss on his cheek and left to go upstairs. "I'll be down in a few minutes Fred and Cylindia."

Fred and Cylindia went upstairs also since they were done with their breakfast also. In a few minutes, as Kathleen promised she was downstairs, as were the other two and they all left through the back.

Everyone got up from the table then and since Nicky was done Connor escorted him back upstairs and made sure he got into bed again then sat down on the side of his bed. "I am sure glad that you're okay Nicky. You gave us quite a scare last night you know." "You were scared. Why?" "Because, I don't want to lose you so soon. Especially so soon after losing Dad and Cordelia. I don't think I could take losing another family member so soon, so I want you to make sure that you and Mike stay nice and healthy okay?" "I'll do my best big brother." "You see to it that you do." Then Connor did something that surprised Nicky. He gave him a big hug and held on for awhile. When he pulled away Nicky caught a glimpse of a tear running down his brothers cheek but he didn't say anything he just slid further down in the bed and laid back on the pillow and kept what he saw in his heart.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Connie walked into the clinic later that afternoon. Sean had been able to get four hours of sleep after leaving Nicky in Connors hands. He looked up when he noticed Connie. "Sean, can I speak to you for a moment?" "Sure Connie, have a seat over here." He pointed to Fred's chair by her desk. "How can I help you?" "I need to talk to you about Lucinda. She is getting more and more tired and I frequently see her rubbing her chest. You know she is 80 now but she refuses to go to a Doctor. She keeps on saying that she is okay but I know she isn't. Could you talk her into letting you check her? Both Joaquin and I have tried but she just won't listen. I think that she is afraid that if she can't work anymore that she will be sent away."

"I've noticed how she is moving slower these days and even though she can take the elevator she insists on taking the stairs. Actually her getting that exercise going up the stairs is helping her but I agree that it's time for her to rest more and start taking the elevator. I'll get her to come and let me do some tests on her and give her a good physical then I'll talk to Wesley and Connor so that they can talk her into staying with us and that she is still wanted even though she isn't going to be working anymore. At 80 years of age she has more than earned her retirement." "Thank you Sean. Don't tell her that I came to you though because she'll be very angry with me." "Don't worry she'll never know that we talked." Connie left then and returned to the kitchen to start Supper.

Sean went to talk to Wesley about what Connie had discussed with him. Wesley called Connor and Kathleen, who had just walked in the door with Fred and Cylindia, into his office. He told them what Sean had told him.

"I'll talk her into staying with us, you just get her into the clinic and give her a physical. I'll tell Connor what to say to her when you get the results back." Kathleen said as she stood up. Connor, Wesley and Sean all stood up at the same time and saluted. "Sir, yes Sir." "At ease gentlemen." She smiled as she left. "It's frightening how much she is like Cordelia." Wesley said as they all followed her out.

Later that night as they were all sitting around the table and talking about their day Wesley asked Kathleen about her day. "Well I was able to get all of the classes that I needed. Cylindia thought I was taking on too many classes but I assured her I would be alright. Since I already know Latin the class in Medical Language should be a breeze along with the class in Physiology since I learned all of the parts in the human body with Grandma teaching me. Even though I am taking six classes I am really only taking four that will be new to me. I think I'll be okay though." "Are you taking anything at night?" Connor asked. "No I didn't want to be at a class and be hit with a vision and having to go out of the class to call you or go and help."

"What about your other non medical classes?" Wesley asked. "Wesley and Connor I want you to know that she took a test to see what she needed and she passed with flying colors. They practically wanted to give her a diploma on the spot. With her Daddy and Grandma teaching her all kinds of stuff that girl will only have to take her medical associated classes and a class in history. After that they told her that she could take finals at the end of the year with the seniors and if she passes they will giver her a degree equal to a four year degree. Her counselor was flabbergasted that such a young girl knew so much especially her French and Spanish. I told her that her Daddy started teaching her French and Spanish when she was very young and was practically learning the other languages along with English." Fred said.

"Don't praise her so much Aunt Fred she can just barely get her swollen head through the door as it is." Mike said. Kathleen said something in Spanish to Mike and he said something back. Mike had the gift of languages like Kathleen did and had learned French and Spanish from his father like his sister did where as Nicky had only been able to learn Spanish. Wesley wasn't quiet sure where Nicky's talents lay. He was hoping that the school would be more successful with him.

Sean chose this time to break his news to the women in the group and set his plan in motion to get Mrs. Sanchez to let him give her a physical. "Connie and Lucinda could you come in here for a minute please?" When the two women were standing in the dining room Sean said "Okay ladies and gentlemen I am announcing to everyone that Dr. Thompson and I will be performing physicals on everyone so that I can learn as much as I can about all of you and especially the women. Wesley, would you call Spike and let him know what we are doing and ask him to join us so that he can help Dr. Thompson. I have all of Dr. Martin's records on everyone but they are all pretty old. Tomorrow I want to see Mrs. Sanchez and Connie at 8, Kathleen and Fred at 10. Don't drink or eat anything after midnight tonight. Lou I'll see you at 1. Cylindia has her own Doctor so she will be helping us. The clinic is off limits to the men tomorrow and their physicals will be the next day. I believe you have an appointment next week with your heart specialist next week Wesley?" "Yes." Wesley said with a moan. All the women gave a low moan also.

The next day was busy for all of the Doctors. All of the Scooby's arrived at 10 that evening and Spike was up with the rest and ready for all of the exams along with the rest of the Doctors. Dr. Thompson was sitting on the side most of the time while Spike did most of the work. Arthritis was affecting his hands now and it was difficult for him to handle anything small. Since they had all of the Scooby's here all of the exams took more then three days to get everyone done. The last one to be done was Mike Thompson himself. Sean did the exam along with Spike and they threw Hunter out of the clinic at Mike's request.

By Friday they had all of the test results back from the Lab and Sean talked to each person in private. All of the children were in perfect health. Gunn was starting to show Arthritis in his back and Sean advised him to continue with his exercises since it would help to keep his bones mobile. Dr. Thompson of course was really showing his age and all of the problems associated with age for a man. Hunter had gone over the results with Sean and they agreed on a course of treatment for him. As they both sat in front of Sean's desk Mike looked to Hunter and put his hand on hers. "I'm sorry I'm getting old Mickey." "Don't be sorry Mike I knew from the day that I met you that this would eventually come, but I love you more now then I did that first day. You gave me a beautiful son that one day will give us grandchildren. Best of all Mike God has promised me that I will be allowed to die sometime after you and you're getting older and having problems is a sign to me that this time is coming soon. Your heart is still in good condition and a little Viagra will fix the sex problem and I can still give you the Vampire special." She picked up his hand and kissed it.

"What's the Vampire special?" Mike just looked at him and raised his eyebrows a few times. "It's a little technique that Angel discovered that heightens the orgasm. I'll have to show you a prized film that we have that will show you what he does." Hunter said. "The first time she gave me the Vampire special I checked myself to make sure that the head of my penis was still intact. My orgasm was so powerful I thought I had died and went to heaven already." "If it's that powerful all I can say is it's a good thing your heart is in good condition. Now if you don't mind I think it's time that I talk to Mrs. Sanchez so would you ask her to come into the clinic please?" Hunter and Mike left and Mrs. Sanchez came in along with Connie.

"If you don't mind Sean I brought Connie with me for moral support because I think your going to give me some bad news." "On the contrary Mrs. Sanchez I am going to give you very good news, for a woman of 80 that is. You're in relatively good health. The problems you are experiencing are just because your 80 years old. Your heart is working like your only 60 and your lungs are clear. You have no problems with your stomach which to me seems a miracle considering all of the spicy food you eat. The only problem you have is arthritis and your cholesterol and sugar are a little too high. I am going to give you a prescription for some drugs to help with your sugar but the cholesterol I want you to try to control it by your diet. That means you have to cut back on the red meat. The only bad news I am going to give you is to start taking the elevator more and don't use the stairs unless you have someone walking by you. I also want you to start doing some exercises in the gym that will help to build your bone density because you have osteoporosis which is common for a woman your age. It's also the reason why I want you to have someone walking by you when you go up the stairs."

"I can still work and live here then? You're not going to send me away?" "What made you think we were going to send you away?" Sean asked. "I thought I would be forced to retire and sent away because I am old and my hands have started to shake a little and I have to take the stairs more slowly now." "Your 80 years old Mrs. Sanchez you have a right to take things more slowly now. Usually women your age are having hip problems but because you take the stairs so often it helps to keep your leg and hip bones stronger then they normally would be and it keeps the arthritis from taking over in those joints." Mrs. Sanchez and Connie hugged each other both were thinking the worse. "Is that all?" "Yes you can leave now and give everyone the good news. We all were thinking the same thing as you were and no one wanted to see you go."

Sean followed them out of the clinic and up to his room to rest for a while since he had been so busy for the past week. Wesley had told him today that he received a call from Bishop Jack O'Connel saying that he was bringing a priest that he had chosen to be their teacher and confessor. Sean was anxious to start to learn about God and his church. It had been a long time since he had been to church and he had started to go astray long before he was turned. Just as he was starting to go to sleep he heard a light knocking on his door. "Come in Kathleen."

Kathleen opened the door carefully and closed it in the same way. "Were you going to take a nap?" "Yes the day still calls out to me to sleep so I often take a long nap during the day. Why don't you come and lay beside me. You need to get all of the rest you can because it won't be long before you'll be lucky to get any sleep at all." Kathleen threw her shoes off and pulled the blanket that was at the end of the bed over both of them. Sean turned over and pulled her into his arms and placed a kiss on her forehead then went to sleep. Kathleen felt safe in Sean's arms just like she used to feel in her Daddy's arms.

They woke up at 6 that evening. "Wake up lazy." Kathleen said as she tried tickling his nose with her hair. Sean sat up as he started sneezing. Kathleen jumped up and put her shoes on. "Let's go for a jog around the block a few times before Supper. You've been stuck in the clinic for the past few days and I haven't seen you exercise at all. "I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes." Sean said as he closed the door behind her. "That girl is going to be a handful." He said to himself as he started to change into some sweat pants.

"Where are you two going?" Wesley asked as he came downstairs to do some work in his office before Supper. Kathleen and Sean were just about to go out of the front door when he saw them. "We're going to jog around the block a few times before Supper. Anyone else want to come?" "Isn't the sun still up yet?" "It's heavily overcast and looks like it's going to rain." "Wait a minute Sean. Connor, if you're in your room come down here. We have two attempted escapees." Wesley yelled upstairs. They heard his door open.

"And where do you think you two are going?" "We're just going for a jog around the block a few times." Connor went into his office and brought out two electronic devices and gave one each to Sean and Kathleen. "If something happens all you have to do is press the buttons on these and I'll get a signal. I am going to be up on the roof and keeping an eye out for you. Keep your eyes open Kathleen. All it takes is one tranquilizer to put you out." They took the devices and put them in their pockets then exited the Hotel. Connor headed for the top where he could keep an eye out for them. He watched them as they started to make their 2nd time around the block. The streets were busy with people returning home from work so he didn't hear anything as two men took aim and shot tranquilizers at Kathleen and Sean. Before she went down Kathleen pressed the button of the electronic device in her pocket and also called out for Connor at the same time.

Within seconds Connor was downstairs and calling for help. Wesley came running out of his office and followed Connor out of the front doors. Spike was the next one to come down and they all followed Wesley. A few hundred feet away they found people surrounding someone on the sidewalk. He shoved people aside as he went to his sister's side. Spike was next to come to her side. He saw the syringe that she had been shot with and pulled it out and put it in his pocket. Connor looked around and didn't see Sean. "It must be Wolfram & Hart. They must be interested in who Sean is." Connor quickly picked up his sister and took her back to the Hotel. Wesley took care of the crowd and gave an explanation so that no one would panic and call 911.

Connor took his sister to the clinic where Hunter could check her. "We need to let her come out from under the sedative because she's in a deep sleep. They must have given her a lot." Spike handed over the syringe to Hunter. "It's obvious that they didn't want her to be able to do anything. They knew if she was conscious they wouldn't have been able to take Sean." Hunter said.

"When this is over we are going to have to see if Kathleen can do something about that building across from the Hotel." No one noticed Nicky and Mike standing at the door of the clinic. "Connor, I can hear Sean he says that they have him strapped down to a table and they have been asking him who he is and why he is living at the Hotel." Nicky said. Everyone turned to look at the two boys. "Have they done anything to him?" Wesley asked. "All we know is that they have him tied down to a bed and that he is in a room with someone that is taking some blood from him right now." Mike answered.

"Well unless Kathleen wakes up soon we can't do anything about Sean. He could be anywhere in that building. All we can do is wait for either Kathleen to wake up or for them to release Sean." Wesley said.

Kathleen didn't wake up for another six hours. They had placed her in her own bed upstairs and Hunter was at her side when she heard Kathleen's heart start to beat faster. She called Wesley and Connor and could hear them running up the stairs when she turned to go back into Kathleen's room.

"What happened? The last thing I remember was Sean and I jogging around the block." Hunter explained what had happened and that they believed Wolfram & Hart had Sean. Kathleen closed her eyes and concentrated on finding Sean. "I think he's unconscious because I can't hear him. Let's go over to Wolfram & Hart's building to see if I can sense him." Kathleen started to sit up with Hunter's help. "Let me go to the bathroom then I'll meet you at the back." Everyone left then and gathered downstairs by the back doors.

After a few minutes Kathleen came downstairs. "Hunter and Spike would you go with us please. I don't think we'll be able to do anything tonight I just want to see if Kathleen can pinpoint him in the building. Put a protective spell on the Hotel Willow as soon as we leave." Connor said as they exited the Hotel and piled into his Van. It only took them 15 minutes to get downtown to Wolfram & Hart since there was very little traffic at this time of the night. Connor parked in the front while Kathleen searched the building for Sean. "I found him but he's in the lowest part of the building and they have four Warlocks trying to block me from finding him. Connor I can't do anything to them because they're one hundred percent human like Willow. They new I would just get rid of any demons but since we handle humans more carefully I most likely can't touch them." "Okay we'll park over in the alley by this other building and wait to see if they try to move him." Connor said as he moved his van over to the building across the street and pointed it towards Wolfram & Hart.

They had been waiting for four hours when Kathleen lurched forward, she cradled her right hand and screamed. "My hand, my hand, oh God the pain." They knew it was Sean that was being tortured and Kathleen was picking up on it. She screamed one more time as she cradled both hands. The others guessed that they had done something to his other hand. Kathleen had passed out from the pain that she was feeling from Sean. When she woke up again she looked at her hands and the tears were falling.

"Let's go home Connor. We can't do anything for Sean now all we can do is wait for him to return him before sunrise." "How do you know they'll return him?" Connor asked. "They are telling the Warlocks they can go because they will be returning him to the Hotel within the next hour. They've found out what they wanted to know." Kathleen just stared at Connor until he turned around, started up the van and left.

Just before sunlight they heard a van pull up to the front. Connor and Spike went running out to the front and found Sean trying to get up and out of the oncoming sunlight. They pulled him in just as the first light touched him and he began to smoke. He collapsed to the floor as the others closed the doors behind the three men. Hunter went to Sean and checked his hands that he was cradling under his arms.

"They crushed my hands with a sledge hammer Hunter, they crushed my hands. I don't know if I'll ever be able to perform surgery again." Kathleen sat on the floor by Sean and he showed her his hands. Blood was pouring from his hands and the artery in his wrist. His hands looked as though every bone had been broken. She put her hands around his face and made him look at her. "Sean, Jesus would not have sent you here if he didn't want you to do exactly what you were told you were here to do. Out of every bad thing that happens to us we learn a lesson that He wants us to learn. You don't understand it now but Daddy and Dr. Martin will help you. Do you believe me when I say that everything will be alright and you will be a surgeon again?" Sean looked deeply into his Beloved's eyes and he found truth in everything she said. "Yes I believe you."

While Kathleen had been talking to Sean Hunter was wrapping his wrist so that the blood flow would stop. "Let's get you up and to the clinic Sean so we can start to fix your hands." Hunter said as her and Spike picked him up and helped him on the bed. Spike helped him out of his shirt and started to clean his hands up so they could see what they had to work with. Mike had gone to the head of the bed and was preparing to put Sean to sleep. "You won't have to do that Dr. Thompson." Kathleen said. "I have to Kathleen. It will be too painful for him to be awake." "He'll be okay we'll need for him to be awake so that we can ask him if what we are doing is successful. Spike and Hunter will you stop doing anything to Sean while I talk to him? I don't want him to concentrate on anything but what I am saying." Hunter and Spike stopped cleaning Sean and took a step back.

Kathleen put one hand on Sean's chest and her other hand on his forehead and slowly moved her finger back on forth. "I want you to listen to me Sean. I want you to look only at my eyes and see the love I have for you. Can you see it Sean? Can you see the blue skies that we will one day see together as we walk together hand in hand. Our children following us. I want you to concentrate on our hands joined in love Sean. Can you feel my love for your flowing through my hand Sean?" "Yes I can feel your small but strong hand in mine. Your left hand is in mine while your right is holding onto our son's hand. My left hand is hanging onto the tiny little hand of my own princes." "Yes our children our holding our hands. I want you to think of our day in the sun Sean but when I talk to you I want you to answer me." "Alright, I'll take our daughter and son to play over by the swings until you need me." Kathleen stood up and looked at Spike and Hunter. "You can go ahead now. When it comes to joining the nerves and blood vessels do your best to put them back together then call me and I'll complete the joining." Spike and Hunter understood that Dr. Martin was telling her what to do so they proceeded to put Sean's hands back together again.

Five hours later they had Sean back in his own bed with his hands bandaged. With Kathleen helping them it didn't take as long as it normally would to put a human's hands back together again. When they had finished with bandaging Sean's hands Kathleen put him into a deep sleep from which he shouldn't wake up from until the next morning. When the men put Sean in the bed Kathleen wanted to help with him but Hunter and Cylindia pushed her out the door. When she started to protest Hunter held her hand up and said "No arguments, your still a young girl that has never seen a man in his birthday suit and even though you do miraculous things young lady Cordelia would never forgive me if I should let you help to take care of Sean. Now go and get yourself some sleep. I'll come and get you as soon as he wakes up, I promise." Kathleen stood at the door and just stomped her foot and walked over to her own room and slammed her own door closed. Connor and Wesley heard the ladies and just continued downstairs smiling.

"All I can say is it's a good thing that Kathleen is the one that decided to wait for them to get married until she graduated." Wesley said. "What makes you think they are going to wait to hit the sheets until they get married? She only said that she wanted to wait to get married until she graduated. You want to bet that they'll have sex when she turns 18 or wait until she graduates?" Wesley thought about it for a minute. "I'm remembering Cordelia's words. 'When that girl gets herself a man she is going to start having babies like a bunny.' I think I'll decline any invitations to a bet." Both men laughed as they went back to their own rooms. After Connor went into his room Wesley looked over at Connor's door. "I'm still having a hard time getting used to him going into your room Angel. I sure miss you brother." As he entered his own room Fred saw the tears sparkling in his eyes. It had been a busy night and morning and everyone was tired. Fred was already lying down for a long nap. She pulled the other side of the quilt up so Wesley could lye down beside her. Wesley and Fred had been married long enough now to be able to almost read each others mind and know what the other was thinking. Fred often thought of Cordelia every time she saw Connor or Lou go into their bedroom also. They went to sleep thinking their own private thoughts of their missing friends.

The next morning at 7 Hunter heard Sean starting to wake up. She had been sleeping on the couch and was awakened by the sound of his crying. She went to his side and shook his shoulders. "Sean wake up, it's only a dream." He opened his eyes and saw Hunter. "Where is Kathleen?" "She's sleeping. You've been sleeping for the past 14 hours. How are you feeling?" Sean looked at his bandaged hands. He tried pushing himself into a sitting position but it hurt too much so Hunter assisted him. She sat down again when he was comfortable and started to take the bandages off of his right hand. The skin was completely healed and showed no signs of having been injured. Hunter pulled out a safety pin she had placed on her robe in anticipation of when he woke up. She pricked one of his fingers. "Did you feel that?" "Just barely." She tried all of his fingers and removed the bandage from the other hand and did the same test with the same results. "You're lucky Sean. I'll test them again in another 24 hours and it should be better. Well see if you can move them okay at that time. Now then would you like to take a shower before I put the bandages back on or would you like to soak in the whirlpool for a while?" "I'll take the whirlpool to soak in for awhile then you can send Cylindia in to bathe me and help me to get dressed." "Okay I'll start the whirlpool filling and call Cylindia in to help you bathe then get dressed." "Why don't you help me?" "I would but you're the same height that Angel was and he would always have a hard time leaning on me. He said it was because I was so much shorter then him. Cylindia is almost as tall as Gunn so I think you'll be more comfortable with her."

Hunter called Cylindia to come upstairs to Sean's room then she started filling the whirlpool bath. By 8 o'clock they had Sean dressed and his hands bandaged well enough so that he couldn't move them. Both of the women walked on either side of Sean as they went to the elevator and to the dinning room.

Kathleen came running to Sean and threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss. "You told me you would get me when he woke up." "I'm sorry Kathleen I forgot. I guess my memory isn't as good as it used to be. After all I am over four thousand years old." Hunter smiled and Kathleen gave her a dirty look then pulled Sean over to his own chair then she went to the kitchen to get his breakfast. She made him an extra large mug of blood and a large breakfast. She had eaten already so she could devote all of her time to feeding Sean. She had put a straw in his blood so he was able to drink whenever he wanted to.

"Now that you're done eating can you tell us what happened?" Wesley asked when he saw that Sean was done with his breakfast.

"When I woke up I found myself hanging from a metal bar that was hanging from the ceiling. My arms were stretched as far they would go and strapped to the bar. I think I hung there for what seemed like an hour. I've never had to endure torture before and to be quite frank I was scared. Angel was with me though and he told me that I had been kidnapped by Wolfram & Hart and they were probably interested in who I am. After they let me hang there for awhile a woman by the name of Jane Diaz came in followed by some of the biggest men I've ever seen. Apparently she wanted to be prepared in case I decided to have a discussion with them about my living conditions. After questioning me for several hours about who I was and what I was doing at the Hyperion she turned me over to her playmates and one technician that wanted some of my blood. Unfortunately she didn't return the favor and I was starting to get weak from the lack of blood. After several more hours Ms. Diaz returned with her playmates along with a sledge hammer one of them was carrying. She said "We're going to see how fast you heal Dr. McConnell." After that they chained me down to the floor with the bar stretching my arms to either side. When the man holding the sledge hammer hit my right hand with it the pain was so powerful that I guess I passed out. The next thing I knew I was being transported in a van and dumped in the front of the Hotel. I could feel the sun coming up and tried to get up and into the shade. The rest you know."

"It looks like Wolfram & Hart isn't happy with just killing Dad and Cordelia. Apparently they are now concentrating on removing Angel Investigation entirely." Connor said as he looked at everyone.

"Have you come up with a way to destroy Wolfram & Hart yet Kathleen?" Wesley asked. Everyone looked at Kathleen.

"Yes I have or rather Daddy has come up with something. I need to go out to the desert though to try and see if what I want to do works. Gunn I know you took Daddy out into the desert when Grandma wanted to let Angelus loose. Do you remember seeing boulders that were almost as large as a house?" "Yes, in fact we used a grouping of boulders like that to help us contain him. Why do you need such large boulders?"

"Based on the way that I usually take care of problems Daddy has come up with a simple idea that won't destroy them all at once but give us the same results over a period of time. If what I do to the boulder works then we'll try it out on the building that they own across the street." "Can you tell us what you are going to do?" Connor asked.

"I am going to start a small crack in the boulder. Over a few weeks time that boulder will hopefully fall apart. If it works the way we hope it will then I'll go into the building across the street and do the same thing to supporting pillars on the inside of the building. I have no idea how long it will take for the building to collapse though."

"Do you have any idea as to when the best time to go to the desert would be Gunn?" Connor asked. "I think during the last holiday of the summer would be the best time. We can rent that 5th Wheel again and make like we are going camping along with half the population in Los Angeles." "Good we can take the horses and give them a good run. That will mask the real purpose of the outing. Connor got up from the table and said "Welcome to the group Sean. You've now been officially recognized by Wolfram & Hart, our primary enemy. Could you go shopping with me tomorrow Hunter? I need you specifically for the special items Lou and I are going to get for Nicky and Mike." Nicky and Mike perked up all of a sudden. They had been kind of board with all of the conversation at the table. "What are you getting?" Mike asked. "That's for me to know and for you to find out. This will be a good time to test your deductive reasoning. You can do whatever you have to do to try to find out what I'm getting you except to ask Lou, Hunter or myself a point blank question. Okay?" "Okay." Both of the boys said. "I will give you one clue to help you. You will be taking the presents with us when we go to the desert."

Both the Price and Martin boys quickly took their place settings to the kitchen then went running upstairs. Everyone was laughing at them. "No matter how many arguments they have they still join forces to try to outsmart us." Wesley said. "You're going to get them horses of their own aren't you?" Fred asked. "Yah, Dad told me where he found Santana and Aunt Bee so we're going over to those stables and see what they have, that's why I need you to come with us Hunter." "Why don't you go tomorrow and take Sean instead Connor, he told me his father used to raise horses, he would probably be of more use to you then I would. Tomorrow I'll take the bandages off his hands and lend him my ring that enables me to go out into the sun." Hunter suggested.

"Okay, do you want to do that Sean?" "Yes, I haven't been out in the Sun since I was turned." Sean answered with a big grin. "Since we're not going today Kathleen would you like to go and take the drivers license test. You're going to need to be driving yourself back and forth to school and this will be a good time to start getting used to driving the California roads and highways." Connor said. "I'll be ready in 10 minutes." In the next second she was gone and they just felt a breeze. "Do you get the idea that she is anxious to get her drivers license?" Gunn said. "If you feel a breeze go through here tell her I'll be in the back waiting for her." Connor left then to go to his van. Kathleen followed him a few minutes later.

Everyone left then to pursue their own jobs for the day. Hunter ordered Sean back to bed for the rest of the day and Spike spent the day with him to keep him company. He wasn't going to leave until that evening because he wanted to talk with Bishop O'Connel. Ever since they met when Dr. Martin and Angel had taken him to meet the Sisters at Dr. Martin's religious order he had kept in touch with the Bishop and had even flown overnight to meet with him several times. The Bishop had said that he would be coming over this evening for Supper and he would be bringing their new Priest with him.

Mike Thompson had joined them when Hunter brought lunch up to them. Hunter had other work to do with Cylindia so she left right after lunch. They were going to be giving flu shots out to all of Gunn's kids and adults that helped them. For the rest of the day Mike and Spike were talking to Sean about all of the new procedures and equipment that had been put into use since he had gone into hibernation.

"We can't help you too much with the new stuff in surgery since that was Dr. Martin's realm and what we know we know from her. As you know though they are constantly coming up with new procedures and equipment. The biggest thing to hit the medical industry is the MRI which is computer controlled and has enabled us to solve medical mysteries that used to baffle us." Mike told Sean.

"Do you know if they have a program that will allow Surgeons to work at the Hospital to update their knowledge of new procedures or equipment?" "Yes, as a matter of fact they do. They like having it because it gives them free Surgeons for awhile." Mike said.

At three in the afternoon they heard a lot of noise coming from the Lobby so they all went to the hallway and looked over the balcony. Kathleen could be heard calling to everyone to come down and see her new car. Within a few minutes everyone was at the back doors to inspect her new car.

"I take it you passed your test and now have a license?" Sean asked. In answer Kathleen held up her license and new car keys. "I wish Joyce were here so we could go for a ride together." Kathleen said. "Next time I'll bring her but this time she had to stay home to finish her summer school. She's as terrible as her mother was during the last years of high school. Her mind is constantly on other things but her school work." Spike said.

"Who wants to go for a ride with me?" Kathleen asked. Everyone was quiet and no one volunteered. Spike stepped forward and gave an explanation. "Kathleen you are as bad a driver as your Grandmother was. The first time I rode with her I practically got out and kissed the ground, I was so scarred I had to check my shorts when we came to a stop." "I don't do that anymore Uncle Spike. Not since Connor sent me through a driving course. I learned to keep it at the speed limit. (Or close to it.) Kathleen whispered to herself. "I heard that." Connor, Lou, Hunter and Sean said. They all started laughing after hearing each other. "I bet Grandpa would be brave enough to come with me if he was here." "Well fortunately for him he is in England with Tom."

"I'll come with you Kathleen." Fred said. "What kind of car is it anyway?" "It's a Mercedes Benz just like Grandma had." Wesley hugged Fred as he said good bye. "Very funny, ha, ha." Kathleen said as she got into her car. As Fred got into the car Kathleen pulled out carefully.

"Why did you get her such an expensive car?" Wesley asked. "Dad told me to get her this. Not is it only one of the safest cars on the road it's also only big enough to comfortably sit two people." Connor looked at Wesley and raised his eyebrows a couple of times. "When you look at it that way I guess it was a good choice." Everyone went back in then and to work at their various jobs. Fred called Connie and let her know that they were bringing home Chinese food for Supper in celebration of Kathleen's getting her license and a new car.

Bishop O'Connel entered the Hotel with a stranger just as they were sitting down to Supper. Wesley, Spike and Connor got up to greet them. "Your Grace." Wesley said as he shook hands with the Bishop. "Please Wesley, call me Jack." Jack said as he shook his hand along with Connor and Spike. "I would like to introduce you to your new priest, which I hand picked myself I might add. His name is Father Maxwell Dunston. Fr. Max this is Wesley Wyndom Price, Spike Summers and this is the new head of Angel Investigation and Angel's son Connor Martin."

The resident Vampires already knew about Fr. Max but no one said anything.

Everyone shook hands and Fred told them to come and sit down before the food got cold. Connie brought in two more place settings and everyone moved over to make room for them. Jack proceeded to introduce Fr. Max to everyone. "In time I'll learn all of your names. Father O'Connel has told me all about your special needs group and I have agreed to take care of everyone and be your confessor. I belong to a religious order called the Jesuits. I'm sure you have all heard of them in one capacity or another. Normally we don't tend to just one group of people but because of my own situation I have agreed to take you on. I have to be honest with you and let you know who or shall I say what I am." Fr. Max reached over and poured some blood into his own glass from Sean's glass and drank it.

"How is this possible?" Wesley asked as he looked on in shock. "I haven't been a Vampire very long. I was working with the poor in Brazil when I was attacked by a Vampire and turned. I lived as a Vampire for only a year before my brothers were able to trap me and return me to the United States. The head of our order knew His Grace here and he knew Angel. To make a long story short Angel arranged for me to have my soul returned." "But how can you possibly say Mass when you can't eat the Host?" "As you said I can no longer say Mass so you will continue to go to your regular church for Mass but everything else I'll take care of. Gunn I am also here to work with you in helping the poor. As far as my order is concerned that is what I am here for." "I appreciate the help Fr. Max but most of my work for the poor takes place during the day, how are you going to be able to help me very much if you're restricted to the night time?"

"God has granted me the gift of being able to move around in the daylight for a few hours even though my Vampiric nature calls to me to sleep during the day. It was a gift to me since I can no longer receive him in the Mass." "Since Angel became completely human when he was allowed to receive communion why can't you just do the same thing." Wesley asked. "Unlike Angel I was fully aware and in control of what I was doing when I was first turned and I chose to kill for my blood. As penance for those lives I've taken I've been told that I cannot receive Christ in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for many years to come. If you think of the length of time that I must remain in this world without being able to receive communion it will make you understand better how precious human life is and why the primary rule for those of you that fight the good fight must try to refrain from taking it."

Everyone was quiet for awhile while they digested what they had just been told. Connor tapped the side of his glass and stood up. "Does anyone else have a question to ask of Fr. Max?" No one said anything. "Hold up your hand if you agree to let Fr. Max join us." Everyone held up their hand and when they all saw that everyone's hand was up in the air they clapped. "Welcome to the family Fr. Max." Connor said as he shook his hand. "Are you going to be living here or somewhere else Fr. Max?" Lou asked. "The Jesuit's have a house nearby where there are about 10 of us living there. If you don't mind though I would like to have a room here as well where I can stay when I can't make it home in time." "I'll show you a room that you can use and will be kept just for your use before you leave." Lou said.

"Do you eat regular food Fr. Max." Connie asked. "Yes I do eat regular food but could I also have a large glass of blood please?" "We fix it by adding certain ingredients at night and others in the morning. Did you like the blood that you drank from Dr. McConnell's glass?" "Yes that was very good. I thought it tasted differently." Connie brought out a large mug of blood for Fr. Max.

"All I can say is that God does work in mysteries ways." Wesley said then returned to his dinner. When dinner was over Lou called to Fr. Max. "Common Fr. Max and I'll show you where the room is that will be marked as yours."

The next day Connor, Lou and Sean left early to start looking for Nicky and Mikes gifts. Gunn made reservations on a couple of 5th wheel trailers and water tank trucks for them to use when they went out into the desert. The stables were notified that they would be taking their horses to the desert during the next holiday so that they would be able to order enough feed for them. When they all met for Supper that night each told Wesley what they had accomplished that day.

Connor noticed Nicky writing down what information they had been giving to Wesley. "Have you figured out what your gifts are yet Nicky?" Nicky and Mike had big grins on their faces. "It's like Dad taught us, the nose knows." Nicky said as he pointed to his nose. "We're not ready to give you our findings yet but we're pretty sure of what we think it is." "If you guess right I'll start letting you know what types of problems our clients are asking us to deal with and give you a chance to start helping if it's not to dangerous okay?" "Okay." Nicky and Mike said at the same time.

"If the boys are going to start helping with the work Connor I think it's time for their exercises to be stepped up a notch. My boys have been working with Junior to learn more about the martial arts and I think its time for the Martins to do the same thing. They have to start building themselves up also don't you think?" Wesley said. Connor came over to Nicky and Mike and squeezed their arms to test for muscle tone. "They are kind of flimsy." Lou came up beside Connor and put her hand around his arm. "Girls like muscles on a man Nicky and Mike so you better start building those muscles up if you want to attract the girls."

Connor stood up and pounded his chest. "Me Tarzan now, Mike and Nicky new boys. We go play in woods now boys. Tarzan show boys how to kill Water Buffalo and skin big man eating snake. Tarzan mate want to go to woods tonight?" "Tarzan mate tired tonight. Me stay and fold and iron Tarzan's loin cloth and little Tarzans clothes." Lou said. Mike noticed how tired she looked but didn't say anything.

"How about you Kathleen?" Connor asked. "No, Hunter took Sean's bandages off today so I am going to help him do some exercises tonight."

"Come Boy 1 and 2 we go play now." Connor started walking out of the Hotel like he was really Tarzan. Nicky and Mike walked out like they were chimpanzee's.

Everybody was laughing at them. "That is what Nicky needed. I think he'll do better now." Fred said.

As everyone stood up from the table Spike went over to Bishop O'Connel and whispered something to him. They both left then to go upstairs to room 412 that was still kept for things like this. They staid upstairs for more then two hours while Bishop O'Connel looked over Spikes diary that he kept every day. Spike had been told by Fr. Barris to keep a diary everyday of what laws of the Church or commandments he had broken that day whether it was in thought or in deed. He showed it to Fr. Barris every month while he was still able to work. After Fr. Barris started to suffer from dementia Spike started show it to Bishop O'Connel and he became Spikes confessor.

"I can see from your diary that you're doing much better now." "How can you say that when I still have thoughts of taking human blood and Buffy has to frequently stop me from going after humans that run with Vampires and demons."

"Yes I saw that but if you count how many times you do it you'll be able to see that those times are becoming less and less. We can't become saints with the flick of a switch Spike. It takes time and it often happens without our noticing it until one day we realize that we haven't done whatever it is that we want to stop doing or improve on. Unlike the Apostles that were visited by the Holy Spirit and were given understanding all at once, we have to work at it little by little. You're not a Good Man yet Spike but I can see that you are making progress towards it." Spike had his head down and was quiet for awhile.

"Are you still going to be my priest or do you want me to see Fr. Max from now on?" "I am going to leave that up to you. You can continue seeing me just as we've been doing or when you feel more comfortable with Fr. Max you can start seeing him." They were quiet for awhile. The Bishop knew that Spike wanted to say something else but was hesitating. "Is there something else that you wanted to talk to me about Spike?"

"Yes, ever since Angel died I've been more aware of a time limit that when it runs out I'll lose Buffy. I know that as long as Joyce is too young Buffy will remain here as the Slayer, but she is growing fast now and I know it won't be long. I am afraid that when I lose Buffy I may go back to being what I was and I don't want that to happen. My little girl will need me more than ever. My boys will need me also." Spike started crying then because he was so afraid of the future without Buffy. Fr. O'Connel went to him and put his hand on his. "Have you asked Christ to help you Spike?" "Yes everyday." "I want you to offer the suffering of this fear to Christ as penance for your sins and I promise you that everything will be okay. Christ won't abandon you when the time comes. It's been a long day for me now and I am on eastern time. Are you leaving tonight?" "Yes, when I leave here I'll be returning home." Bishop O'Connel hugged Spike and gave him his blessing. Spike left then and knocked on Wesley's door to let him know that he was leaving to return to Sunnydale. They said their goodbyes and Spike left. The Bishop and Fr. Max left also to return to the Jesuit house. Since everyone that wasn't staying at the Hotel had left now Kathleen magically locked all entrances to the Hotel and put a protective shield around it.

Three weeks later they were packing up the trucks and trailers for their outing to the desert. Willow and Tara had come down to go with them at Kathleen's request. She told them she needed to show them how to perform the spell on the rock so that they could help her when it came time to destroy the building across from the Hotel. All in all they had twenty one people going to the desert. Eight horses, three dogs, two 5th Wheel trailers, one water truck, the horse trailer and truck, Gunn's truck loaded down with 3 large family size tents, a generator, 3 large coolers full of ice, food and drinks of every kind, sleeping bags and two mini vans. The men were going to drive the trucks while Lou and Fred drove the mini vans. Since Hunter and Mike were staying home she lent her ring to Sean so he could go with the rest. It was going to be his first time out in the desert. Vince was the only outsider in the group that left the Hotel. He was the only one that was familiar with driving such a large horse trailer. Because of the nature of the family he couldn't stay with them so Fred pulled a small trailer loaded with a motorcycle for him to get home on. In four days he would return to drive the trailer back to the stables. What left the Hotel was a veritable convoy of trailers, trucks and minivans.

Since they had a large amount of people and vehicles with them it took a total of 4 hours to get to the desert location that they were going to spend the next 4 days at. They left the Hotel by 10 a.m. and made it to the desert location by 2 p.m. When they finally came to a stop all of the boys went running out like a pack of wolf cubs and ran over to stand in front of Connor. "Okay Connor, Mike and I are ready to give you are decision." Nicky said after everyone calmed down. "Okay, lay it on me." Connor said.

"You bought two horses." "And how did you come to that conclusion." Connor asked the boys. "It's like Dad taught us, the nose knows. When you, Lou and Sean came back you had a smell of hay on you. When Lou brought your clothes down to the basement Mike and I went down and checked them out. We could smell leather on them as though you had been riding. The biggest clue though was when the three of you came to the patio to clean your shoes off. Mike and I were cleaning the dog poop up and we smelled something different. We asked Mr. Sanchez to come and look at it and he said it was horse droppings mixed in with hay. We figured you guys must have stopped to clean it off of your shoes before you came in."

"Well I must say that you did an excellent job and you are correct Sean helped us to pick out two horses for you and Mike. Before we let them out for you to see them we have to set up the portable corral for them." "Who has the 8th horse?" Kathleen asked. "I bought one, how else am I going to keep up with you." Sean said.

Before anything else was done everyone joined in to help set up the corral. Vince showed them how they joined together and with everyone helping they had the corral set up in just 15 minutes. Then Vince, Connor and Sean lead the horses out one by one. When the Mike and Nicky's horses were lead out Sean and Vince held onto their leads so Nicky and Mike could get a good look at them. "What's their names?" Mike asked. "Your horse's names are George and Gracie. They were born at almost the same time and have been together since the time they were born. As you can see they are both Pintos. George has been gelded so he is safe to have around the mares and Sean's horse." The boys were walking around their horses and petting them. Vince gave them some carrots to feed them. "You have to take care of them now while we are out here just like each of us will take care of our own horses." Connor told them.

"What did you get Sean?" Kathleen asked. In answer Sean went into the trailer and came out a minute later leading a while Andalusian out. He was as tall as Santana had been and looked almost exactly like him except he was white with a dark skin coloring so he wasn't an Albino. His mane and tail were long and stopped just above the ground. Everyone stared at him. "Sean he's beautiful, what's his name?" "He's a registered Andalusian stallion and I am going to call him Farland. He came from Spain and since I came from a land far away also I thought the name was appropriate. "Sean you are going to have people from all over the west wanting to breed their mares to him." Fred said as she ran her hand over Farland. "There is a national registry you can enter him in so that people will know about him." "The previous owners gave me all of the information I needed to register him here in the United States. He's already registered in Spain though." "I see none of the new horses are bothered by the fact you're a Vampire." Kathleen said. "Yes, I almost went for another horse but he was afraid of me and almost bit me. Then I saw this guy and I knew he was the one. He showed no fear and came right up to me." Sean was feeding Farland carrots while standing by him.

"Okay everyone no one goes anyplace, except for Vince, until we set up camp." Fred said. It took them almost 2 hours to set up camp and collect firewood from the hills nearby. They had just a few hours of daylight left before it was too dark to leave camp.

"Connor I want to try the spell on the largest boulder over here before we lose the light. Come on Willow and Tara let's try breaking this behemoth." Willow and Tara followed Kathleen over to the other side of the boulder and away from the camp just in case it worked faster then she thought.

She took a few moments to explain how to perform the spell then they each took their positions. They each leaned against the boulder with one hand pressed against it and concentrated on cracking it. After five minutes you could hear a loud crack that echoed throughout the desert valley they were in.

"Well that was fairly easy." Willow said. "How long will it take for the boulder to crack all of the way?" Tara asked. "I don't know but Daddy said it should crack all of the way before we are ready to leave in 3 days. Let's go help Fred, and Connie." Kathleen said. "Do you think Sean can turn into a wolf like the rest of you can? I've never seen you guys change into wolves and I was hoping you would do it while we're here." Tara said. "I have no idea if he can or not I'll have to ask him when we get back." Kathleen said as they made their way back to camp.

As they all sat down around the camp fire eating dinner Kathleen brought up the subject of running as a pack tonight. "Can you turn into a wolf Sean? I'm asking because I wanted to go for a run while were out here." "Yea that sounds good to us." Nicky and Mike said. "Yes I can run with the best of them but not on a full stomach. Why don't we wait until tomorrow and we'll have just a light dinner or late lunch so that we can run as much as we want." Sean said. Their was some low level mumbling but they accepted his decision.

"Well what are the sleeping arrangements going to be Fred?" Connor asked. "Wesley and I will take this trailer over here along with Connie and Joaquin. Connor and Lou you can take the other one with Gunn, Cylindia and their son. Kathleen, Willow, Tara and Joyce can take one of the tents and the boys can take the other tent and Sean and Junior can take the last one." All the men stood up and saluted her. "Sir, yes Sir." "At ease gentlemen. When I speak to Cordelia tonight I'll thank her for training you so well. After you're done getting your sleeping arrangement fixed up I would appreciate it if you could cut some green branches off of the bushes around here so we can roast marshmallows." Fred said as she started to clean up along with Connie and Lou.

"Fred, since you Connie and Lou did all of the cooking Tara, Willow and I can do the clean up." Kathleen said. "That sounds good to us." Fred said. What Fred didn't know was that the three witches were using magic to clean up the pots and pans and put the food away. In just fifteen minutes they were joining everyone else at the fireside. "How did you finish so fast?" Fred asked. Kathleen just looked at her, smiled and made a motion for magic. Fred just threw her hands up.

When Lou and Cylindia came out after putting their boys to bed on the floor of the trailer they took seats next to their husbands. Vicky was sitting between Sean and Kathleen and Toby and Angus were on either side of Connor and Lou. The dogs were already sound asleep since they were dead tired after running after every small animal they could flush out. Toby had even come back with a several snakes that Connor skinned and cooked for them. Everyone had watched Toby, Angus and Vicky gang up on the first snake. While Vicky and Toby drew the snake's attention Angus would grab the tail and snap it around a few times then Toby would grab the snake behind the head and they would both tug at it like it was a rope and it snapped in two. They had fun most of the afternoon clearing the snakes out of the area then had the good snake dinners. Connor and Junior would skin the snakes after cutting the heads off and then just hung them over the fire to cook. They had to cook them because dogs that have been raised on prepared food frequently didn't eat raw meat unless they were really hungry. This of course made the women happy.

During the next hour they roasted marshmallows and told stories around the campfire. They all went to bed pretty tired. It had been a long and busy day.

At 5 a.m. Sean was up and fixing a glass of blood and some coffee for everyone. He drank his blood first then took a cup of coffee up to the boulder that Kathleen had put a crack in. The boulder was situated against a hill of dirt so that it could be easily climbed to the top. He sat down then and waited for the Sun to come up. At 5:30 Kathleen got up also after hearing Sean and smelling the coffee he had made. She went to the other side of the trailers and used the porta potty that the men had set up for the women then grabbed a cup of coffee for herself and went up to the rock to sit beside Sean.

"Do you mind if I keep you company?" Kathleen asked. "You are more than welcome. You know one of the reasons why I agreed to come to Los Angeles to work at Angel Investigations was that I would one day be able to go out into the sunlight. Even though I value this moment beyond anything you are part of the bargain that I value most. Henry didn't tell me that I would find my Beloved also if I came to L.A." Sean pulled Kathleen to him and gave her a deep, passionate kiss.

Kathleen pulled back and slowly opened her eyes. "If you keep kissing me like that Sean McConnell I don't think I'll be able to keep to my rule of waiting until I graduate from college and nursing school." Sean just held her close to him and they watched the Sun come up.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

By 6:30 everyone started getting up. The boys were first to get up and were already running around like wild animals. Angus was the only one of the dogs that played with the boys. He was young enough to take all of their rough handling but in turn though he wasn't disciplined if he growled at one of the boys for hurting him. The boys understood that he was allowed to give as much as he took.

Later when everyone was sitting around after breakfast Kathleen reported on the condition of the boulder. "It looks like Daddy's idea is working Connor. When Sean and I were sitting up there and watching the Sun come up I could feel the boulder continuing to crack. If you go up there Willow and Tara you can hear it crack once in a while. I think we put it deep in the middle of the boulder so we won't see it for awhile, hopefully before we leave."

"Since this is working how are you going to take care of the building across the street?" Wesley asked. "Before Willow and Tara go home we'll go into the building and cause a crack to start in all of the supporting pillars inside of the building first then the outside supporting pillars. Then we'll sit back and wait." Kathleen said. "But those pillars are more than concrete Kathleen. What about the steel beams inside the pillars?" Connor asked. "Daddy said that the crack we start will start in the center of the pillar which will be the steel beam. That way when the beams are checked after the building comes down they will all show a crack just as though they were made incorrectly. The problem though is that the building across the street is old but the Wolfram & Hart building is relatively new in comparison. What I need is for someone to check out the blue prints on the building downtown, check out anything that will give us information on how the building was built and who supplied the materials. I need something to focus on in those pillars. It doesn't have to be complicated it could be the rivets that hold the steel beams together. It could be something about all buildings built before a certain date that have a problem whenever we have an earthquake. I'm going to be busy with school so I won't be able to help much Connor so everyone will have to pitch in and research this."

"The power to do this is coming mainly from you Kathleen so why do you need Tara and I to help you?" Willow asked. "Yes the power is coming mainly from me but you and Tara are giving me that extra boost of power that I need. You are helping me to channel all of that power to precise points and I give you what you need in turn." "Why don't you just destroy the building?" "I could do it if I wanted to but the innocent people in the building won't have a chance to get out and too many questions would be asked afterwards that would expose the family to too much danger and repercussions from the Senior Partners. My biggest problem will be in getting into the building and around the outside. Half of the outside of the building is behind steel fences. Also when I go anywhere near Wolfram & Hart their warlocks are going to know I'm in the building so I have to work at learning to mask my mind so that they can't recognize me."

Sean was worried that they might do damage to Kathleen's mind if they should discover her. "Can they hurt you if they find out that you're in the building?" Sean asked. "No, they are no match for me. I can destroy them with a mere thought. Willow and Tara have to use words to perform their magic but I only have to think of doing something." Kathleen turned to Sean when she heard him. She knew that he was afraid for her. "Sean, my power comes from God. I was born for the specific purpose of destroying Wolfram & Hart. Don't be afraid for me because Christ is my teacher. Because of Him I often choose childish things to do to prevent anyone in the family from being hurt. The only time that I really permanently hurt anyone was when Connor and Daddy were attacked by demons and Vampires that were working for Wolfram & Hart. When their Warlocks tried to destroy me and send me into an alternate dimension I turned the tables on them and sent them there then sealed the portal shut. I did all of this even though they opened the portal right under my feet. The rest of the demons and Vampires I flung aside so that they were thrown into the side of the buildings around us."

"And here you thought you had just found your Beloved." Connor said with a smile. Everyone laughed. The rest were used to Kathleen's power because they had seen her increase in power as she grew up.

"Can you make things like a mug of blood for me?" Sean asked. "No because blood comes from a live person or animal. I can make things look exactly like the original but I can't make it taste the same. Here I'll show you." Kathleen held out her hand and a small glass of blood appeared in her hand. She gave it to Sean. He tasted it and quickly spit it out. "It looks and smells just like blood but it has absolutely no taste." "That's because I can duplicate everything about blood but I can't replicate taste or what makes blood, blood. I can't reproduce exactly anything that is derived from plant or animal life because only God can create life. All of the ladies became very excited when they found out I could reproduce a Hershey chocolate bar but there smiles disappeared when they found out that I couldn't reproduce the taste and in fact it had no taste. The main ingredient in chocolate comes from a tree which of course is created by God." "Rats and I love chocolate." Sean said.

"Let's go for a ride so the boys can get used to their horses." Connor said. They all got up then and started to help with the horses. Sean and Connor showed Nicky and Mike how to saddle their horses. They had brought Aunt Bee for Joyce to ride while David and Bobbie, the Price boys, were happy to stay at camp with Connie and Joaquin. They had spent one month with their grandparents in Texas during the summer and had just started to learn to ride. Even though they had started out early for their ride it quickly became hot in the desert so they didn't stay out long the first time out. Sean especially was quickly developing a sunburn with his light skin and by the time they got back to camp the dogs tongues were practically dragging on the ground. The rest of the day was spent playing cards and sleeping since it was too hot to do anything.

As the day turned into evening the dogs started chasing animals again and could be heard barking in the distance. Connor, Wesley, Kathleen, Willow and Tara walked over to the boulder and put their hands on it. They could feel a small vibration going through the rock and occasionally hear the sound of the cracking taking place in the middle of the boulder. After a while they removed their hands and smiled at each other then started back to the camp. Wesley walked close to Connor and Connor whispered to him. "I'm going to have to take Kathleen down a peg or two before her head swells to big." Connor lagged behind and quietly changed into a wolf. He crept up behind Kathleen and nosed her in the behind. "I'm going to get you Connor Martin." She quickly changed into a wolf and slid out of her clothes and ran after him. She was a full grown wolf now with a hint of a red coloring to her hair. She was Connors equal in height now but more slender in build. They ran through the camp and Connor went running to Lou and sat down between her legs as she sat on a log with their son Daniel nearby. They already knew that he could change into a wolf but Lou didn't want him to play with the rest yet since he was still practically a baby and could get hurt out here. Daniel knew who the wolf was and went running to him and hugged him. Connor licked his face from one ear to the other.

Kathleen had run to Sean in invitation to join them. Lou left Daniel in Connie's care then quickly changed into a wolf in Kathleen's tent. Nicky and Mike had already gone into their tent to throw their clothes off and were outside as wolves within seconds while Sean did the same and they all went running out of the camp. Sean was a large wolf with slightly red hair as an undercoat. He had a deep chest that added to the impression he gave of a large powerful wolf. His legs were so long that he towered over Connor. All of the others acknowledged him as the Alpha wolf and came to lick his face. Everyone noticed how he played roughly with the male wolves but was gentle with Kathleen and Lou. After chasing each other around for awhile they all went running off into the distance. Toby, Vicky and Angus went running with them so that the pack was rather large.

"You better start the fire pits up Joaquin so we can have enough charcoal to bake potatoes for everyone. I think they will be pretty hungry when they get back so were having steaks tonight." Joaquin, Wesley and Junior started the fire pits up and put some large rocks toward the center so they could put grills over the fire. By the time the artificial pack came back the potatoes had been in the ground for an hour and the steaks were ready to be cooked.

All of the wolves came back into the camp with their tongues hanging out. "Before you get comfortable you all need to take a bath. We don't want any fleas and dirt in the bedding. The adults can use the showers in the trailers and Mike and Nicky can use the makeshift shower on the other side of the trailers by the porta potties." Fred said before they could get comfortable. Since Fred was the boss of the Hotel she was accepted as the boss of the camp. Everyone dutifully went to do as they were told.

By the time they were done all of the food was ready. Sean was so hungry that he drank his mug of blood in two gulps before he even touched his steak. After everyone was done they all just sat back and relaxed. The dogs had caught more snakes and Joaquin had skinned and cooked them. Everyone was so tired from all of the activity that Kathleen just looked at the dirty pots and pans and they all became clean and put away. All of the women just clapped for her. The next day went pretty much the same way and the crack in the boulder could now be seen on the outside and traveling to the top. Sean's hands were becoming stronger with all of the unusual exercise they were getting. At the beginning of the 4th day the crack in the boulder was all of the way at the top and would have fallen apart if Kathleen hadn't used a small tornado to pile dirt against the other side of the boulder to support it.

"I guess we have a way to bring down Wolfram & Hart now. We can go home now everyone." Kathleen said. With that said everyone started to break camp. Everyone was anxious to get home and back to modern conveniences and Vince was had just arrived to drive the horse trailer back to South El Monte. As they pulled into the back parking lot everyone looked at Kathleen expectantly.

"What?" she said as she started to feel everyone's eyes on her. "We were kind of tired and we're hoping you would you know?" Connor waived his hands in the air then put his finger to his nose and wiggled it like on Bewitched. Kathleen laughed at her brother. "Just this once." She looked at the trailers and other vehicles and pretended she was Barbara Eden in Genie. She crossed her arms in front of her and blinked her eyes once for each vehicle then everyone went in. Hunter and Mike were waiting along with Lucinda.

"Now, now Kathleen you know your Mother and Father told you not to use your magic for the simple things so that you wouldn't have to work." Hunter said with a smile. "It's not my fault Aunt Hunter; they were all tired and asked me to do it." "Okay we'll let it go this time. Shame on all of you, especially you Wesley. You know how Angel and Cordelia felt about using magic like that, especially after what happened to Willow when she tried using it for even the simplest tasks." Wesley looked down on the ground and acted like a child that had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Yes Aunt Hunter." Wesley's ploy did the trick and everyone was laughing.

Everyone picked up their own things and took them upstairs. Hunter and Lucinda helped Connie put away what was left of the food and utensils. After everyone had a chance to put their things away and take a shower it was 6:30 at night. Connor told Connie to take the night off and to order enough Pizza for everyone.

Before everyone sat down with their favorite type of pizza Sean went to Hunter. "Here is your ring Hunter thank you for letting me use it. I haven't had that much fun since I was a child." "You're welcome and anytime you need it just let me know."

"Tomorrow Sean I want to start you out on an exercise routine and in two weeks Junior and I will start teaching you what we know of the Martial Arts." Connor said. "Why do I have to do so much training?" Sean asked. Kathleen squeezed Sean's upper arms. "Because these are more or less artificial. You are strong because you're a Vampire. But even Daddy exercised regularly and knew a lot of the Martial Arts and in fact we all do it. We all have to be able to defend each other and our home. The only ones that don't have to exercise and fight are Connie, Lucinda, Joaquin and Mike." "But I thought you loved me for me and the way my magnificent body looks now." "I do sweetheart but don't you know that women get so turned on by finely chiseled muscles. Don't you want me to be proud of the way you look and can defend me and the rest of the family?" Kathleen ran her finger lightly around Sean's ear. "Stop that you're going to drive me crazy. Okay Connor I guess I can spare a few hours a day."

"Well now that we know what we can accomplish Willow and Tara would you like to go over to the building across the street tomorrow and do the dirty deed?" Kathleen asked. "Yes let's do it tomorrow morning because Tara and I want to leave by noon." "Okay then I have some studying I would like to do because my first class is tomorrow at 1 in the afternoon. Goodnight everyone."

The next day Connor, after working with Sean, went over to the Wolfram & Hart building across the street along with Wesley, Kathleen, Willow and Tara. They didn't want anyone to see them so they went under the street and through the sewers and up into the building. It took them thirty minutes to begin a crack in each supporting pillar. Wesley was holding a blue print of the building and telling the girls where each supporting pillar was. It took Willow and Tara longer to say the proper words in Latin where as Kathleen only had to think of what she wanted done. By 12:30 Willow and Tara had left to return to Sunnydale and Kathleen had left for her first class. While the girls were taking care of the problem across the street Sean had spent the morning in the gym along with Junior who started to teach him the Martial Arts.

In the evening they all met for a brief time for Supper. "How are you feeling after your first work out?" Kathleen asked Sean. "No problem. I went through all of the gym like a professional gymnast." "Yeah, a gymnast that has just landed on the bar right between his legs." Junior said laughing. "My poor baby are you really hurting that bad?" Kathleen asked. "Heck no…….after I soaked in the whirlpool for an hour I felt fine." Everyone laughed.

"That's okay Sean. After Kathleen was born Angel had put on weight from all of Cordelia's got to have it cravings. The first day he put himself through a rigorous exercise routine he literally came crawling up the stairs and into the middle of his room on his hands and knees. He collapsed and slept right on the floor for the next hour." Fred told Sean. "Why did Angel gain weight when Cordelia was the one having the cravings?" Sean asked.

"Sean you've initiated a link between you and Kathleen haven't you?" Hunter asked. "Yes but it's just a light one so that I can sense her well being." "Well brace yourself my dear Dr. McConnell because when Kathleen gets pregnant you are going to learn what women go through when their pregnant. Not all Vampires can do what you do. Angel could but I can't for some reason. The link that you will establish between you and Kathleen on your wedding night will make you experience all of the aches and pains that comes with being pregnant and best of all you'll experience all of her got to have it cravings and having to pee all of the time in her last trimester." Hunter said. "Don't forget the diet afterwards." Fred said. "Poor Angel suffered not only from Cordelia's pregnancy but he had to endure all of Gunn and Wesley's teasing."

Sean leaned back and looked at Kathleen. "Don't worry my Beloved, I won't go screaming from the Hotel. I'll go through anything to be with you and have the same thing that Angel was given." He gave her a light kiss then. "Well I'll see you later because I have another class tonight." Kathleen gave Sean another kiss on the cheek and left.

"Don't you think she has taken on too much too fast Fred and Wesley?" Sean asked. "Sean that girl has such a high IQ that she probably will be done with her schooling way ahead of time and while she is standing on her head." Wesley said. "You mean our kids might be geniuses?" "Not necessarily. Angel had a high IQ and Dr. Martin did but neither of her Kathleen's brothers do nor does Connor. Dr. Martin said that Genius level IQ's ran in their family but not everyone had it. It seems to skip around. Connor and his brothers have high IQs but not Genius level like Kathleen." Wesley told him.

"I was able to finish with my required classes early but nothing like Kathleen, besides which I had to put a lot of study hours in. On the week of my finals I was so worn out and nervous that I broke out in a rash. On the week of Kathleen's High School finals she went out to a movie, stood guard every night that week and had a vision where she came to help us. You don't have to worry about my sister Sean." Connor said as he took another sip of his coffee and got up from the table. Fred and Hunter got up and helped Connie and Lucinda clear the table then went to their own rooms. They were all still feeling the effects of their outing during their holiday in the desert.

Sean didn't go upstairs though. Instead he took the keys to one of the vans and went to the college that Kathleen was attending. He drove around the campus until he spotted Kathleen's car then parked and waited for class to let out. While he was waiting he saw a car full of boys driving around the parking lot. When they spotted Kathleen's expensive car they stopped and were checking it out. He saw one boy try to open the door and immediately receive an electric shock. He tried again and received another more powerful shock. The others tried it also and received the same kind of shock. Sean heard loud expletives then the boys got into their car and took off. He quietly laughed at Kathleen's way of doing things as he waited for her to come out. In another 30 minutes the students all started to come out and go home for the night. Kathleen didn't come out though until 30 minutes later. He ducked down in his seat so she wouldn't see him.

"I know your there Sean McConnell so you might as well sit up and follow me home." Sean sat up and had the biggest grin on his face. He started the van and pulled up beside her. He got out and walked over to her. "What are you doing coming out so late little girl?" "Talking to the professor." "About what?" "My grandmother." "Oh, I guess that's okay. Let's go home and get you to bed. Or do you have homework to do?" "They didn't teach anything that I don't know already." Kathleen said as she got into her car and started it. "I'm feeling like a Dairy Queen ice cream cone so meet me over there okay?" "Okay." Sean said as he jumped into the van and followed her.

They didn't get back until almost midnight and had to walk carefully through the Hotel and to their rooms.

"There coming back awfully late. Do you think they did anything?" Lou asked Connor as they lay in bed. "No I trust Sean and Kathleen. Especially since he promised Cordelia that they wouldn't have sex until she was 18." "I hope she is as strong as you were. Goodnight." Lou snuggled into Connors arm and went to sleep.

The next morning Kathleen didn't have time to talk to anyone. She grabbed a cup of coffee and an egg sandwich that Connie made for her real fast then ran out the door with several large books.

"She is going to be one busy girl for awhile." Connor said as they all watched her run out the door as she said, Good morning, Goodbye.

"I was worried about her last night so I went to the college and looked for her car and just parked where I could see her car but not so close that she could easily see me when she came out. While I was sitting there a car load of kids were going around the parking lot and looking for a car to steal. They spotted Kathleen's car and tried to steal it. That girl had put a spell on the car so that when they went to touch it they were shocked with electricity. It took them several attempts before they got it through their thick skulls that it was protected. They all jumped back into their car and took off when people started coming out." "Where did you two go last night? We heard you come in just before midnight." Connor asked. "They were making out in the back of the van kissing." Nicky said. Sean saw the mischievous look in his eyes and ran after him. Nicky ran up the stairs and to the second floor. Sean jumped up to the balcony and landed in front and surprised him. "Tell Connor you were lying Nicky." "Sean wants me to tell you that I was lying Connor." Nicky looked at him with a smile. Sean grabbed Nicky and turned him upside down and swung him over the balcony. "Tell him the truth Nicky." "I did tell him I was lying." "You know what I mean." "Alright, alright. I really was lying Connor." "And?" "I have no idea what they were doing Connor, honest. Tell him to put me down, please." Nicky said plaintively. Sean saw Connor come and stand under the balcony so he let go of Nicky. Connor caught him easily but it scared Nicky so bad that he peed in his pants.

Nicky was so scared and embarrassed that he started hitting Connor to make him let him go. "Whoa hold on their Nicky. You're the one that started it. Sean didn't know that you couldn't jump like he's seen Kathleen and I do. He just saw me here below you and he let go." "He should know by now that there are only two freaks in the family." Both Wesley and Gunn got up when they saw Connor's old temper flare up at Nicky's remark. "Connor he's just a boy, be careful." Nicky got scared when he saw the look on his brother's face. He knew he had gone over the line. Connor grabbed Nicky by the arms and took him over to the couch in the lobby and threw him at it. Nicky was almost as tall as Connor yet he was able to pick up Nicky easily. Connor took a deep breath as his grandmother had taught him to do whenever he let his temper flare.

"Is that how you think of Kathleen and I Nicky?" Nicky didn't answer. "Don't you love us Nicky. Your sister and I have loved you and Mike from the time you were born. Why did you say that you think we are freaks? Is it just because you wanted to hurt me?" Nicky didn't answer at first. "You and Kathleen inherited so many special powers from Daddy but Mike and I didn't get anything. All we got is that were stronger then kids our age and we can run faster." Wesley came over and joined Connor; they sat on chairs across from Nicky. "You're wrong Nicky you've inherited a lot from your father. In fact you inherited more from your father then either Kathleen or Connor. Do you know what that is Nicky?" "No." "You're a carbon copy of your father. Do you know what a carbon copy is?" "No." "Carbon copy is how they used to make copies of typed letters. When you wrote or typed something and you wanted a duplicate of it you took two sheets of paper and placed what is know as a carbon paper between the two sheets and anything you wrote on the top paper copied onto the second sheet. You Charles Nicholas Martin are a carbon copy of your father. Not the Vampire Angelus but a carbon copy of Angel Liam Martin. When you are older and someone forgets what your father was like all we will have to do is look at you. You talk like him, you walk like him and you even get into trouble like he did." Mike had come over to join his brother. "What about me? Am I a carbon copy too?" "No Mike your not a carbon copy of your Dad but you have inherited everything that was good about your father and your Mother. You will be the one to help Nicky control his temper. You will be the one that will help him run Angel Investigations if he decides to follow in your brothers footsteps. You Mike will be the rock that holds Angel Investigations together just like your mother did." Wesley said. "I guess were special after all." Mike said to Nicky. "I guess so. I'm sorry I called you and Kathleen a freak Connor. I just wanted to get back at you." "Apology accepted." Connor shook Nicky's hand then hugged him.

"You know Kathleen most likely heard what you said." Connor said. "I know I felt her sadness after I said it. I think I made her cry." "Poor Nicky when we men hurt a woman's feelings they make us pay for it for a long time afterward." Wesley leaned forward and whispered to Nicky and Mike. "I know from experience." "What happened?" Mike asked. Wesley just looked at them and shuddered. "It's too horrible to say. Those were bad memories for me." He put his head down and made like he was crying and wiping his eyes. Nicky just looked at his Uncle Wesley and had a disgusted look on his face. "I think someone is trying to pull the wool over our eyes Mike and his name is Uncle Wesley. Aunt Fred would never do anything mean to him." Wesley looked up with a smile. "You two are getting too smart for me." "If I were you I would start thinking of what I am going to say to her to make up for it. Doesn't school start for you next week?" Connor asked the boys. "Yeah so we better make sure that all of our clothes are ready and we look over our books to get ahead of them." Nicky and Mike got up and dragged themselves upstairs.

"Anyone want to go with me to buy a car tonight?" Sean called out before the boys disappeared upstairs. Nicky, Mike, David and Bobby all yelled. "Me, I want to go." "Okay well leave as soon as the sun goes down and we'll go out for dinner if it's okay with your parents and Connor. Wesley, can you drive us to a car dealer? I already know where I want to go." "Sure, if you don't mind Fred and I will come along." "The more the merrier. I'll see you later. My task masters are calling me to the gym." Sean could hear the boys say "Rats" as they went into their rooms.

Kathleen was back at the Hotel by 3:30. The Lobby and dinning room area was empty so she went up to her room and started doing her homework. By 7 o'clock she was done and came down for Supper. Right away she noticed that Sean and the boys weren't there. "Where is everyone?" "Sean wanted to buy a car tonight and invited the boys to go along. They needed a ride to the dealer though so Wesley and Fred took them and they all went out to Supper." Lou answered her.

"Kathleen, did you hear what Nicky had said about us this morning?" Connor asked. "Yes, what caused him to say that?" "What do you mean by that?" Connor said a little more forcefully then was needed. "He wouldn't say that unless someone said something or did something that made him say such an awful thing in order to get back at someone." Kathleen looked directly at Connor.

Kathleen was just like Cordelia, she could make you afraid of her even though she couldn't physically hurt you. Connor thought he had better tell her the whole story before he started shaking in his boots and embarrass himself.

When he was done Kathleen just said "Thank you for telling me Connor. I'll know how to handle him now." "Kathleen, Nicky said that he could feel your sadness at what he said and he thought he had made you cry, did he?" Connor asked. "Yes he did hurt my feelings. I didn't know that he felt like that about me. I think I'll go to bed early tonight I want to get up early in the morning and do some exercising in the gym. Good night everyone." Lou got up and followed her to the steps.

"Kathleen, are you okay?" "Sure Lou I'm just a little tired. I think I'll give Nicky the silent treatment for awhile and act like nothing is wrong. It will drive him crazy until he comes and apologizes to me also." She winked at Lou with a smile and turned and went upstairs.

At 9 o'clock the troops came back. The boys went right to their rooms as did Wesley and Fred. Sean went to Kathleen's room and listened at the door. He could hear her heart beating slowly which told him she was sleeping so he just continued on to his own room and let her sleep.

The next morning Sean got up early to exercise so he could get some work of his own done today. Before Willow left she had gone over his credentials with him so that it would pass close inspection from anyone who was interested so he could get a license to practice in the United States and California. In order to get that license he had to take a test which was scheduled for today. Once again he would have to borrow Hunters ring but he would go in heavily covered and use the same story that all Vampires used that they were allergic to the sun light. As soon as he received his license he would go to the hospital that Hunter occasionally worked at whenever they needed help. Sean realized that he needed to update his skills since there were so many new procedures and available testing equipment. He was especially interested in the MRI.

Sean found Kathleen already in the gym when he entered. They greeted each other and Kathleen continued with her exercises while Sean warmed up. After two hours they both jumped into the pool to cool off and finish with their exercises for the day. Kathleen just had enough time to take a shower and get dressed before she had to be at another class.

At 2:15 the phone rang in the Lobby and Fred answered it. "Angel Investigations we help the hopeless." "This is UCLA may I speak to Connor Martin?" "Yes hold on and I'll switch you over to him." Fred put the person on hold and called to Connor who was in his office recording his expenses for the last job that he did. "Connor, pick up the phone it's UCLA." Right away his heart started beating faster. "This is Connor Martin." "Mr. Martin this is Diane Simmons I am one of your sisters professors. She passed out in my class." Connor got excited. "Is she alright? What happened?" "Calm down Mr. Martin she's awake right now. She said she hasn't had anything to eat today and I think her sugar was just too low. I've already given her some juice to drink and she is doing okay now but I don't think she should drive and she needs to go home for the rest of the day." "Okay thank you Ms. Simmons we'll be there as soon as possible." As soon as Connor hung up he yelled for Hunter. "Hunter I need you right now." She came running out of the clinic. "What's wrong?" "It's Kathleen she fainted at school. Her professor thinks her blood sugar just went too low. Can you come with me to pick her up?" "I'll be there in a second." Hunter said as she ran back into the clinic. She grabbed a blood glucose monitor to check Kathleen's blood then ran out to Connor's van. As she stepped out into the sun she started smoking and jumped back into the shade. "Connor I can't go I lent my ring to Sean today. I'll get Fred to help you." Hunter ran back in and gave the monitor to Fred and told her what to do.

Traffic was already starting to get busy so it took them forty five minutes to get there. They both went running into the Administration building where they were directed to the nurse's office. As soon as they saw her they both hugged her. "I'm alright, I'm alright I just passed out for a moment. I'm feeling much better now." Fred tested her blood right away. "Missy your blood sugar is still too low." "Can you walk or do I need to carry you after I take a moment to strangle you for scaring us so badly?" "I'm sorry I promise I will always make sure that I have something in the morning." Kathleen got up and had to reach out for Connor when she swayed after standing up. Connor picked her up in his arms and quickly took her out to his van while Fred talked to the nurse then followed them outside.

When Connor started up his van Kathleen reminded them that her car had to be taken home. "Don't you have another class tonight?" "Yes." "Well someone will bring you to school and you can pick up your car right now I am going to a restaurant where you can get something to eat." "Yes Connor." "Good girl." Connor said then pulled out from the parking lot and drove to the nearest restaurant he could find.

By 4 o'clock they walked into the hotel where Sean was standing and tapping his foot. Kathleen knew right away that she had to put on the poor me sympathy getting act.

"What do you have to say for yourself Ms. Martin?" "Please don't be mad at me Sean I'm a little tired after eating the big meal that Connor made me eat. I'm going to go and take a nap so I can be alert for my class at 7." She hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek then went upstairs. "Saturday morning Miss Martin I don't want you to eat or drink anything so we can test you." Sean yelled up at her. Kathleen leaned over the 3rd floor balcony and yelled "Yes Dr. McConnell." Fred showed him the monitor. "This was taken as soon as we arrived and she had already had an orange juice." The monitor read 65. Sean shook his head. "As so many of us have done when we went to school we often forgot to eat. I know I almost passed out a few times when I didn't make sure that I drank some blood before going to class." "How did you get to classes during the day?" Fred asked. "Fortunately I went to school in Scotland where it was very cold in the winter and I could bundle up enough so that I wasn't exposed to the sun." "What about your internship and residency?" "Same thing, my only problem was when I had to go and help bring a patient in. Whenever possible I would try to get someone else to help bring them into the hospital." Sean took the monitor from Fred then and went into the clinic to enter this incident in Kathleen's medical file.

On Saturday morning Sean, Hunter and Kathleen were busy running a blood sugar test. By 3 p.m. they finally let her eat something. At Supper that night they gave her and Connor the results. "Mary Kathleen Martin you are hypoglycemic. Do you know what that means?" "Yes my blood sugar has a tendency to get to low which means that I always have to make sure that I eat three times a day and carry around something to eat." "Very good I hope that this means that I'll never have a problem with you not doing what you know is the right thing to do. Am I correct on that assumption?" "Yes Dr. McConnell I'll do everything that I have to do because I have too much depending on me." Sean pulled Kathleen into his lap and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Don't ever do that again Kathleen or you'll make me grow gray hairs." He put her on her feet and took a swat at her behind as she left.

This was the last problem that they had with Kathleen not eating. As usual Kathleen's word was her bond. Two months later another member of the family became gravely ill.

The Scooby gang had come to L.A. for Thanksgiving and the hotel was full once again. Peter Kepa and his daughter Leilani had come for the holiday. Peter had graduated and was now working at a law firm in Hawaii to get experience. Leilani was only going to be staying for the weekend then flying home because she had school on Monday. Peter wouldn't return for another week so that he could work with Wesley and Gunn for awhile. On Thanksgiving day Joaquin was in the back and tending to the barbeques and as usual all of the men were gathered around the barbeque and assisting. Giles was with them as well. Sean of course had to stay under the cover of the patio so Giles came over to sit with him.

As they were talking Sean noticed Giles rubbing his chest. "Giles are you experiencing pain in your chest?" "Yes and it's the main reason why I wanted to come over this weekend. I thought I would let you check me. I've been experiencing shortness of breath and pain in my chest frequently." "Let's go into the clinic because I can't hear your heart with all of this noise around and I'll check you." Giles followed Sean into the clinic and they were gone for about 15 minutes.

When Giles came back he was more relaxed and didn't seem to be in any pain. He returned to his seat on the patio except Giles refrained from any alcohol. As usual, when they all sat down to eat, everyone stuffed themselves and wanted to do nothing but lie around and sleep. As usual though the women were up and putting food away and cleaning up while the men took a nap. When the women were done and had joined the men on the patio Giles took Buffy and Spike to the side.

"What did you want to talk to us about?" Spike asked. "I'm not going to be able to train with Joyce anymore. It seems I am getting to slow for her to practice with me. I can continue to train her in controlling her thoughts and emotions while fighting but I will have to leave the physical training up to you two. I've been experiencing a lot of pain in my chest since last week when I was helping her to practice her Martial Arts. Sean examined me and took an x-ray of my chest. It seems that the last time I worked with Joyce my attention lapsed and she hit me in the chest and cracked a couple of ribs. Sean wants me to go into the hospital so that they can go in and remove a piece of my rib that seems to be pressing on my left lung." "Why can't he do it here in the clinic?" Buffy asked. "He wants to do it in the hospital where he will have the equipment he needs just in case he finds something that he can't see on the x-ray, and then theirs my age. I wanted to tell you two before I talked to Joyce so that you'll know what to expect from her." "That's okay Giles Buffy and I have often talked about you leaving her training up to Buffy or me but we were afraid you would blow a gasket." They all laughed at the truth of it.

"I'm glad that's over. Sean is calling the hospital to set up time in surgery but he said most likely it will be tomorrow and he told me to take it easy until I go in tomorrow. At times like this I envy your ability to heal fast." Giles said with a smile. Giles was quiet for awhile. He looked up at Spike. "Spike, I really would appreciate it if you would break the news to Joyce." "Sure Giles don't worry about it." Spike said as he got up and went looking for Joyce. Buffy continued to sit with Giles for a few minutes.

"Daddy do you want us to take any extraordinary measures to keep you alive if something should happen during the surgery?" Giles was quiet for a few minutes while he thought about her question. "No, let me go Buffy. I miss Mary and I want to go to her. She visits me at least once a month but I can't touch her. I know that you, Joyce and the boys will be fine with Spike. He's turned out to be a good husband and father for you and your children and I have no more worries about you. Wesley will be able to take care of the Watchers Council and when he needs to step down Tom will be ready to take care of everything." Giles looked up into Buffy's eyes then. He saw the tears trailing down her cheeks and he reached for her and they hugged for a long time. After awhile Giles let her go and went up to his room to take a nap and rest as Sean had said.

That evening Sean let Giles know that he was to enter the hospital tonight so that he could have various tests done before his surgery at 10 a.m. the next morning. Sean also gave him a DNR (do not resuscitate) form. Sean made several copies, one for Giles to carry with him, one for the hospital and one for Giles medical records that Sean now kept on him. Giles packed right away and Sean, Buffy and Spike took Giles to the hospital since it was dark already.

The next day at 10 a.m. the visitor's room was loaded with people from the Hyperion Hotel. Since Giles was the patriarch of the family he had a lot of people concerned about his well being. Joyce was sitting with Kathleen. They were still close to each other and at times like this they leaned on each other just as Willow and Buffy had leaned on each other through the years.

It had been 2 hours since Giles had gone into surgery and everyone was starting to worry. Spike got up and asked if he could step into Surgery to check with Sean on his progress. The nurse at the surgical desk informed him that Giles had had a heart attack while on the table and that Dr. McConnell would come out and talk to everyone as soon as he was done. Spike went back to the room and sat on the chair across from Buffy. "Buffy Giles had a heart attack while on the table and that's why it's taking so long. Sean said that he'll be out to talk to us as soon as he's done." Buffy just started crying. Joyce came over to her mother and hugged her. "Mama I'm sorry. It's all my fault, I shouldn't have been practicing with Grandpa." Spike took Joyce onto his lap. "Joyce it isn't your fault. Your Mother and I have been discussing the problem of your grandpa helping you to practice. We could see how he tired out faster than he used to but he is stubborn and didn't want to stop. We are lucky that he had the heart attack while in surgery so that he could be helped right away." Joyce wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"Kathleen, do you think that Grandpa will be alright?" Joyce asked. "Yes, he'll come out of this alright but he'll have to slow down some and take care of himself better. Grandma is angry with him and scolding him right now." Everyone was looking at Kathleen when she answered Joyce. "How do you know this Kathleen?" Spike asked. "I can hear grandma and grandpa talking. Grandpa wants to join her now but grandma told him that it isn't time yet and we still need him here." They all noticed Kathleen was turning a bright red. "What happened?" Joyce asked. "For just a minute I saw grandma and grandpa kissing then grandma spanked grandpa on his bear bottom when he turned away because he was wearing his hospital gown and holding it together with his hand until he kissed grandma." Everyone laughed as they imagined them together. "That sounds like grandma alright." Connor said.

They had to wait another 2 hours before Sean came to them. They all stood up as he approached. "Please, sit down everyone. Giles is in ICU right now. The nurse at the desk told me that you've already been informed that Giles had a heart attack while we had him open. I was able to test him and make repairs to two of his arteries while we already had him on the table. I also, of course, repaired the piece of one of his ribs that was poking at his lung other then that he is doing okay. If everything goes okay we'll be able to take him out of ICU in a couple of days. Kathleen, I don't suppose you have my special drink in my thermos with you?" Kathleen pulled the thermos out of her purse that her mother used to use for her father and gave it to Sean. He drank the contents in two gulps then gave the thermos back to her. "Thank you my dear. I am going to go and clean up then check on Giles. I suggest that you all go home now Giles will be out until tomorrow morning most likely. They've asked me to help out in surgery so I'll be here until late and I'll let you all know how he is doing when I get home. Just in case I don't get home until everyone is in bed I am telling you now that tomorrow I'll only let his family go in to see Giles. When we move him out of ICU then you can all see him if you want." Sean got up and left then.

"I guess we better go then." Wesley said. When Wesley returned home he called the Watchers school and talked to Tom and Giles secretary Peggy. He told her that Giles was doing okay and to let everyone know.

The next day Sean and the Summers family went to the hospital. Giles was still in ICU so Sean went in first. He checked Giles chart then went to the head of the bed and put his hand on his shoulder to wake him up. "How are you feeling." "I have a lot more respect for what Wesley went through when he was in this position." Giles said. "Are you having any pain in your chest?" Sean asked. "Not really, I think what is bothering me are the wires holding my ribs together." Giles said as he rubbed his chest lightly. "Here I thought I was just going into the hospital to fix a splinter and I end up having a by pass." "You're in pretty good shape for a man your age Giles. If you didn't work out with Joyce so much you would have had a much worse time of it so you can thank her for keeping you in such good shape." Sean told him. "Then why did you tell me to take it easy now?" "Because physically you're in good shape but like most humans your reaction time is slower and your response to anything that requires quick reaction is all slowing down because of your age." Sean answered. "I guess when you put it that way all I can do is acquiesce gracefully." "Good decision, I'll go and let Buffy, Spike and Joyce know that they can come in now and I'll leave you alone for awhile." As Sean let the Summers know that they could go in and see Giles for fifteen minutes only he asked Spike to wait for him in case he needed a ride home.

Sean went to check to see if they needed any help in surgery today. He checked the board at the nurse's station outside of surgery to see what was scheduled so he could see if anything interesting was happening but they were all routine this early in the day. He checked on several of his patients then returned to ICU where the Summers family was still with Giles.

"Spike can I see you out here for a minute?" Spike said his goodbyes then went out to speak with Sean. "What's up?" Spike asked. "Spike they are accepting applications for new interns right now. I thought this would be a good opportunity for you to get the training you need. I spoke to the head of the department for interns and residents and he said if you can get your paper work into him ASAP he'll hold a position open for you." "I don't know Sean I'll have to talk to Buffy about it. It would mean uprooting the family and Sunnydale would be unprotected." "Well you have ten days to make your decision and submit your application and credentials. Let's go see if the women are ready to leave yet." Sean and Spike walked back into Giles room. "Are you girls ready to leave now?" Spike asked. "Yes I think Grandpa is ready to go to sleep again." Buffy and Joyce gave Giles a kiss goodbye then left. Sean stopped at the nurse's station and told them that if Giles had a good night then he was to be moved to a regular room tomorrow. He then joined the rest and returned to the Hotel. Two days later the Scooby gang left for Sunnydale and Buffy and Spike had a long talk about the possible move. Willow and Tara were the only ones that had stayed.

After three days Sean released Giles to return home. Giles was disappointed that Buffy wouldn't be there but he understood that Joyce had to return to school on Monday. Connor and Wesley had gone to the hospital to pick up Giles. While they were getting Giles dressed and ready to go Wesley quietly went to accounting and took care of his bill. By the time he returned Giles was waiting in his wheel chair by the nurse's station. "Are we ready to go?" "I presume you took care of my bill?" "You presumed correctly. Let's get you home before the traffic starts. The ladies have fixed up your bedroom with flowers and lots of balloons and Connie is making a fabulous Supper for tonight." Connor left Giles at the front of the hospital with Wesley while he went to get his new van that he had bought just the week before. As he pulled up in front of the hospital Giles got up from the wheel chair with Wesley's assistance. Connor came around and practically picked up Giles and placed him in the middle passenger seat. After getting him strapped in Connor and Wesley loaded up and returned to the hotel.

"They're here." Bobby yelled down to everyone in the hotel. The Price boys, Bobby and David, had been assigned time to stand at guard on the top of the roof. The adults took the evening hours and all of the boys took the time after school and the two hours before school. Since it was Bobby's turn to be on guard he had to stay upstairs and couldn't come and greet Giles with the rest. Connor had talked to Wesley about putting his brothers on guard also so that Kathleen wouldn't have to take a turn at guard because of her schooling and the strenuous schedule she was on. The only time she stood guard now was Fridays and Saturday evenings.

Everyone was at the back door of the hotel and waiting for them when they pulled up. Cylindia had the wheel chair ready for Giles as Connor and Wesley got out and helped Giles to get down. Kathleen was still at school and wouldn't be home until Supper time so she was the only one missing from the group. Fred and Lou were the first to welcome Giles home. Nicky, Mike and David were next as they gave their grandfather a hug and kiss on his cheek. Jeff, Daniel and Jerry Lee, Cylindia and Gunn's son were next. Sean could see that Giles was getting tired from the day's activities. "Okay Cylindia lets put him to bed so he can get some rest. I believe he has had enough excitement for the day." Gunn took command of the wheel chair and pushed Giles to the elevator and his own bedroom on the fifth floor. Cylindia settled Giles in for the afternoon and took all of his vitals and wrote down everything for Sean and Hunter to see. Everyone else had stayed downstairs so that Giles would get the peace and quiet that he needed.

At 6 o'clock Kathleen came home from the school library where she had been doing some research for a couple of term papers. As she reached Giles door she knocked on the door lightly. Cylindia opened the door. "Can I come in Cylindia?" "Yes Giles is awake now." Kathleen entered and when she saw her grandfather sitting up she went to him and gave him a gentle kiss and hug. "I'm not going to break Kathleen you can do better then that can't you?" Kathleen hugged Giles tighter and gave him another kiss. "I'm so glad that Grandma sent you back Grandpa." "How do you know she sent me back?" "When you were arguing with her that you wanted to join her I saw you for awhile. I heard you two more then I saw." Giles looked down at his hands as he held Kathleen's small but powerful hands. "She said it wasn't my time yet and I had to wait to be with her a little longer. I miss your grandmother so much Kathleen. I envy your father and mother that they were allowed to die together. Sometimes I feel so alone." Kathleen hugged her grandfather again. "You will never be alone grandpa and pretty soon Buffy and the rest will join us here and the hotel will be so busy that you'll be lucky to get any sleep." "How do you know that they will be moving here?" "Grandma told me. I think it will be very soon then Joyce, Junior and I will be together again." Kathleen said with a smile. Her smile made Giles smile also.

Cylindia came over then. "I think it's time for you to get up now and go downstairs to have supper with the rest of us." Kathleen got up then and along with Cylindia helped Giles to get up. "I need to go to the little boy's room before we go down." Cylindia helped him to the bathroom then let him go in by himself then closed the door. A few minutes later they were heading downstairs to the dinning room. Everyone greeted Giles then they sat down. As usual Kathleen tapped her glass for everyone's attention and the thanksgiving prayer. "Dear Heavenly Father we thank you for this wonderful meal that you have given Connie the talent to prepare but most of all Father we want to thank you for letting Grandpa stay with us for a while longer. Amen." Everyone echoed her Amen then started eating.

When everyone was done eating and just enjoying the conversation at the table Wesley tapped his glass for everyone's attention. "Next year our home here is going to be getting very busy. I received a call from Spike today. He explained to me that he has an opportunity to go into an internship at Our Lady of Mercy hospital and he will be coming down tomorrow to submit his request to the Doctor in charge of the internship program. If he is accepted he will be moving in with us and returning to Sunnydale on his days off. In the Fall of next year they will all be moving in with us and Joyce, Tony and William will be enrolled in school over here." The boys all cheered they were so happy about the news. Nicky and David were planning on going out for football next year and they knew that Tony was big enough to try out for the Varsity team also. Tony had taken after his biological grandfather who was a big man. He already stood at the same height as Spike but was much more bulky. He was so big that if Spike had been a normal human Tony looked like he could easily put his father down.

"I guess we better start working on the new suites then. Since we have so much time we can do a lot of the work ourselves." Fred said. "Lets wait to see if Spike will be accepted Fred." Wesley said. "He will be Uncle Wesley. Grandma has told me that all of these things that you mentioned will be done and they will be moved in by the fall of next year. In explanation all she gave was that things will happen that will change Sunnydale forever and the Hell Mouth will no longer exist."

Everyone was quiet for awhile. "Do you know if Buffy and Spike are aware of these events that will take place in Sunnydale?" Giles asked. "Yes, Daddy has told them and I am guessing that that is why they are making the move then instead of waiting for Joyce to graduate in two years." Kathleen said.

"I for one won't be sorry to see that Hell Mouth destroyed but I feel sorry for all of the people that will lose their homes and businesses." Giles said. "Don't worry about it Grandpa everything will work out okay." Kathleen told him. "Don't forget what Grandma always told us Grandpa. God often takes bad things and makes it into something good." "Yes Princess she sure did. I think I'll go back to bed now Cylindia I believe I've had enough excitement for the night now." "Why don't you walk over to the elevator Giles so you can get your evening exercise in for the day?" Cylindia said. Giles got up from the table and held onto Cylindia's arm as she walked to the elevator while pushing the wheel chair in front of her. Everyone watched Giles short steps along side of Cylindia.

"Watching him reminds me of when it was my turn in the wheel chair." Wesley said. "Let's hope that you never have to use it again." Fred said as she gave her husband a kiss then started to get up and clear the table.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

One day later Spike arrived. He found everyone sitting at the dinning room table for supper. He greeted everyone and they made room for him across from Sean. "I have everything ready for inspection Dr. McConnell. I've even come up with a story for my wanting to go through an internship and residency even though I was working with Dr. Thompson here." "Let's hope that it holds up to close scrutiny." Sean said. "Are you going to use our usual excuse?" "Yes, I am going to tell him that because of my problem I was working with just Dr. Thompson in his practice but since he retired I haven't been able to practice medicine. What kind of excuse did you give for not being able to go outside without being thoroughly covered?" Spike asked Sean.

"Back when I went through my internship and residency they didn't know very much about the problem and I could come up with my own degree of sensitivity to the sun. Plus most people in Scotland are pretty white anyway so my pale skin almost blended in with everyone else. Do you think you'll be able to handle all of the crazy people that go through the ER. Some of them bite and you'll have to think of something quickly when someone wants to help you after you've been attacked by a crazy person that's high on drugs or alcohol." "Buffy and I talked about it and she gave me some suggestions since she always had to come up with excuses when she was in high school."

"Okay then will go late tomorrow afternoon. It will be a good way to start off with your story. I've already told Dr. Franklin about your problem and he understands the situation." Sean let Spike finish eating his meal before it got cold. When he was done he leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his coffee. "It's a good thing you still eat food, it will make you more human looking when you take a break." Sean said. "I know I don't look it but I've always loved eating and somehow that enabled me to be able to taste my food after awhile. When I was first turned I didn't eat because I couldn't taste anything but blood and Angelus said that he rarely ate anything except for when he wanted to blend in with people when he had a target. After a while I just missed it and the conversations that you could have at a meal. Drusilla and I used to dress up and go to a restaurant just so that we could dress up to go out to eat and dance. She particularly liked chocolate. When we were in Europe it was just getting to the common people where as before it was only available to the rich. As the years went by I just started to slowly get my taste back where as Angel never did until God gave him the ability to taste food again."

"I had a lot of fun with that." Gunn said. "What did you do to the poor guy?" Sean asked. "When Angel asked for another sandwich the first time he was able to taste food Dr. Martin told him not to overdo it the first time. When I heard that I made a lot of noise about the fact I was on my second sandwich because they were so good. I smacked my lips and made a lot of remarks about how good it was." Gunn said with a big grin on his face. "Yah but Dad went after you and you guys ended up wrestling for that last half of your sandwich. You almost choked on it when you shoved it in your mouth." Connor said.

"I wish I had known Angel better he sounds like he was an extraordinary person. I envy him for all that he achieved." Sean said. "If it wasn't for Dr. Martin I don't think that Angel would have achieved even half of what he did. You know Sean when Dr. Martin first came to help Angel she was a Catholic Nun. She is the one that brought Angel to God. Because of what she did for him and what he went through and was given almost all of us became Catholic. Gunn and Willow are the only ones that didn't convert but Gunn's son is destined to become a priest that will take over his fathers work with the poor." Wesley said.

"Wolfram & Hart have made Daddy suffer a lot Sean and because of what they have done to Daddy and the rest of the family we want to destroy them. As you now know they are evil and as lawyers there primary clients are demons and vampires. They were also responsible for Grandma's death. We also think that they were responsible for Daddy and Mamma's death." Kathleen said. Sean stood up then. "Since I am part of this family now I guess I had better get started on my conversion and talk to Fr. Maxwell. Do you have his phone number Wesley?" "Yes I do but I've already called him and he will be over at 8. We have a few people that want to go to confession, don't we Nicky." Nicky didn't say anything but just got up from the table and took his plate, silverware and glass into the kitchen for Connie then went over to his bedroom until Fr. Maxwell came.

At exactly 8 o'clock Fr. Maxwell came in and went to the chapel. Everyone that wasn't going to confession either left for the evening or went to their rooms. Wesley and Connor had rigged up a bell that could be heard on each floor that Fr. Maxwell would ring to let people know that he was ready to hear confessions. Depending on how the person felt about it they could either sit next to him in the pew or behind him. When Nicky came out of the Chapel he was surprised to see Connor going in. As they passed each other Connor just winked at his brother and smiled. Sean had asked Connor to tell Fr. Maxwell that he would like to see him in 412 when he was done.

Sean and Fr. Maxwell were in 412 until 1 a.m. in the morning. During this time Sean started his first lessons in learning about God and Jesus. Since Fr. Maxwell was a Vampire also it was easier for Sean to accept everything that he said about Jesus and His infinite Mercy. When Sean left 412 he headed up to the top of the hotel where he knew that Kathleen was standing watch. They ended up talking until 3 a.m. which was when Wesley took over. The next day was Sunday and Sean went to church with the rest for the first time since Angel's and Cordelia's funeral Mass.

On Monday Wesley took Sean and Spike to the hospital so they wouldn't have to expose themselves to the sun while driving. Sean told Wesley that they would most likely take several hours so Wesley waited for them in the hospital cafeteria. Three hours later they came looking for him.

"How did it go?" "It turns out that I met Dr. Franklin a couple of times when I came to the hospital with Mike for deliveries." Spike answered. "So when do you start?" "January 2nd. He said that it was a good thing that I had been working with Mike when he still had his practice because the other interns started in August." "Why do you have to wait until January?" "They need the time to check on my papers which I am confident will pass inspection since Willow is the one that created them." "Yeah she's good at it. I think Mike will be just as good because he's helped her on a few projects during the past year. We better go now before it gets too late." Sean and Spike waited for Wesley inside of the building until he pulled up at the front then went running out to the open van. Wesley had bought a new Dodge mini van for Fred just recently. The boys were getting so tall that the car she had was too small for their long legs.

Spike returned to Sunnydale until he heard from the hospital. Kathleen was kept busy almost constantly and rarely had time to spend with Sean which was a good thing because Sean was already having to cross his legs a little too frequently. Giles was allowed to go home to Sunnydale as long as he stayed with Spike and Buffy for the next two weeks. Peter Kepa had returned to Hawaii after helping with the research on the Wolfram & Hart building.

For Christmas everyone split up. The Sanchez family went to Mexico to celebrate Christmas with Lucinda's youngest son that had a ranch. Mike and Hunter stayed at the hotel to hold the fort down. Hunter had said that Mike was looking forward to the peace and quiet. Wesley took his family to see his Mother in England who, because of her age, was unable to travel. The Martin family along with Sean packed up to go and stay at the Mansion in Sunnydale along with Gunn and his family. Christmas morning Spike was embarrassing his daughter by jumping around and saying 'Finally I get to say when we all can open the presents'. The Christmas tree and presents took up one whole corner of the living room, there were so many. The last present to be brought out was one that looked like a picture frame.

Connor stood in front of Buffy and Spike. "Buffy and Spike, before Dad passed away he had finished the last portrait that he had on his list of pictures to be completed. I thought it was time for you to have it." Both Spike and Buffy ripped the wrapping off then stood back and looked at it. The picture was of Buffy in her wedding dress along with Spike. Around them in smaller pictures were their children first as babies then as teenagers. Spike just put his arm around Buffy as they stood and stared at the picture. Joyce got up and along with her brothers they just stared at the picture. "You were beautiful Mama and Daddy you were so handsome." Buffy just turned to Spike. "I miss Angel and Cordy so much Spike." All Spike could do was hug her and whisper into her ear, "Me too baby". Spike looked at the picture again and said "Thank you Angel it's beautiful".

At the end of the week Spike went to L.A. so that he could start his internship on January 2nd. As the months past Sean was kept busy with the hospital and learning all of the new surgical techniques, Kathleen was spending almost as many hours working at her schooling as Spike was working at the hospital. Hunter took care of all of the regular occurrences of bumps and bruises and occasionally helped Cylindia with the poor that came to Mrs. Benton's home where they knew they could get help.

Sean continued to see Fr. Maxwell on a regular basis to learn about the Catholic Church. Spike had started going to Fr. Maxwell also since he no longer had the time to go to the east coast to see the Bishop. On the weekends Kathleen caught up on her sleep while Sean would spend some time with the boys plotting their next attack on Kathleen. They had started a little contest to see who could come up with a way to surprise Kathleen while she was engaged in some other work whether it was washing and ironing clothes or guarding the hotel at night the only time that was off limits was when she was studying.

One Saturday night while Kathleen was busy guarding the hotel Sean and the boys went outside to look for a toad in the garden that Nicky had captured the last time they went riding. Mike and Nicky went into Kathleen's room and short sheeted the bed first then carefully put it back together again. Nicky then put the toad in the shower and underneath a towel. They thought she would be fooled by the bed then wouldn't be expecting anything else to be done. The next morning everyone heard her scream when she went into the shower. At breakfast the next morning Kathleen didn't let on that anything had happened. She just carried on a pleasant conversation with everyone then went to her room to get ready for church. Sean, Nicky and Mike were talking silently all through the ride to church. They each asked each other if Kathleen had said anything about last night but each said no. 'Be on your guard men because she's going to get back at us some how, some time, some where. Most likely when we least expect it.' Sean said to Nicky and Mike in their minds.

Kathleen took her own car to church and told Connor that she was going to go and see Suzy and Maeling over at Mrs. Benton's. She told him she hadn't seen them in a long time and wanted to visit with them for awhile. In actuality though she was going over to Mrs. Benton's to plot retribution with her old fellow conspirators. The girls had frequently worked together to get back at the boys when they were all younger and she was hoping that they could help her again.

Kathleen waited a whole week to put her plan into action. She short sheeted Sean, Nicky and Mike's bed on Sunday night while they were all out at a movie, just like they had done to her. In each of their pillow cases she created small harmless snakes so that after fixing their beds and lying down they would start to feel something moving in their pillows. She waited patiently in her room. Within a few minutes she heard a lot of noise when the boys and Sean found their sheets folded up so that they couldn't stretch out their legs. Sean suspected there was more to come so he searched his rooms carefully and found nothing. He called out to Nicky and Mike to tell them to check their rooms carefully because Kathleen wouldn't stop at something so simple, but they found nothing. After 15 minutes everyone in the hotel heard the boys yelling and running out to the hallway. Kathleen didn't hear anything from Sean though and that worried her. She wondered if Vampires could die of a heart attack. She reached out for him with her mind. He was quiet and seemed to be alright. After everyone quieted down Kathleen finally went to sleep after worrying about Sean for awhile.

The next morning everyone was sitting at the breakfast table and no one said anything until Wesley tapped his glass to get everyone's attention. "I think that this little game of lets get back at whom ever is now at an end. It was fun at the beginning but now I think most of us have had enough. This is the end now isn't it Nicky, Mike and Kathleen?" "Yes Uncle Wesley." They all said at the same time. "And Sean you should be ashamed of yourself leading the boys on like that. If I didn't know any better I would think that Angel was coaching you, but I know he wouldn't do it because you're getting back at his princess." "Yes Wesley I won't do it anymore." "Good then I hope we can all get a good night sleep tonight. If you boys are done now I believe it's time for you to go to school." All of the boys picked up their plates, silverware and glasses and took them into Connie then ran upstairs. All of the adults finally busted out laughing.

"I have to thank you Sean for going through this. Nicky has been doing a lot better and I think he'll be okay now." Connor said.

When Hunter turned to Mike to ask him to pass the cream, so she could put some in her coffee, he didn't respond. "Mike could you pass me the cream please?" When he gave no response this time Hunter turned to her husband and put her hand on his. Her heart started beating faster as she looked at his face. "Wesley get your van please I believe Mike is having a stroke." Wesley ran outside and pulled his van up to the back where Sean was standing with Mike in his arms. When the boys heard all of the commotion downstairs they came running down stairs. Jeff, Mike and Hunters son, joined his father and mother in the van along with Fred. Everyone else but the rest of the boys and Kathleen got into Connors van and followed. Kathleen and the boys went to school since there wasn't anything they could do but wait.

As soon as Wesley pulled up to the emergency entrance Fred jumped out to run inside for help while Wesley pulled the side door open. The emergency entrance was undercover so Sean could come out. By the time he was able to get out of the van they had a stretcher ready to take Mike. Spike was working in the ER that day and had come running out with the rest when he saw Fred calling for help. They quickly pulled Mike into the hospital and started working on him. Sean pushed Hunter out of the room while they worked on Mike. One hour later Sean and Spike came out to everyone that was in the waiting room. Hunter stood up.

Sean held Hunters hands while her son stood by her side. "Hunter he is pretty bad. We have him on a respirator because he isn't breathing on his own. We have him upstairs right now to test for any brain activity. I don't sense anything from him though and I believe he is brain dead. When they are done with the tests the nurse will let me know what they have found." One of the nurses came into the waiting room. After a few minutes Sean returned to Hunter and Jeff.

"Hunter I'm sorry to tell you that they didn't find any activity and Mike is brain dead. If you want I'll just shut off the machine that is keeping his body breathing or you can do it yourself." Hunter turned to Wesley. "Wesley, would you call Fr. Maxwell and ask him to come and give Mike his last rites, call Marissa and David also to let them know and tell them they can come if they want to. When everyone is here and Fr. Maxwell is done giving Mike the last rites I'll stop the machines. I am going to go and spend some time with my husband. Jeff would you like to go with me and say goodbye to your father?" "Yes Mama." Jeff was as tall as his mother now and he took her hand in his and they followed the nurse to Mike's room.

Wesley called Marissa and let her know about Mike since he used to be her doctor. He then called Kathleen and the boys. Connor left to pick up all of the children and bring them to the hospital. Kathleen was there shortly after Connor returned. Fr. Maxwell, Gunn and Cylindia came in at the same time. Since there were so many people the nurses moved Mike into a private room that could contain all of them. When Fr. Maxwell started to give Mike the last rites Kathleen kneeled and everyone followed her example. When the last rites were completed Kathleen started to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy then the Rosary. When the prayers were completed Hunter stood up and lowered the bed so she could reach her husband easily. She reached over and gave him a last kiss then stood up again and let their son give his father a last kiss and hug then she shut off the machines that did his breathing for him. It took a few minutes but Mike took his last breath at 6 p.m. that night.

They all started to leave then. Only Hunter and Fr. Maxwell stayed a little longer. After 15 minutes Fr. Maxwell came out and went to Kathleen. "Kathleen, she wants to see you." Kathleen went into Hunter and pulled a chair over so she could sit next to her Aunt. Even though Hunter wasn't her real Aunt she had grown up calling her Aunt Hunter and continued to do so through her teen years. Hunter pulled Kathleen's hand into her lap. "Kathleen can you tell me if Mike went to heaven to be with Mary, Angel and Cordelia right away or does he have to suffer for his sins first?" In answer Kathleen took both of Hunters hands in hers and said "I cannot say what Uncle Mike's final judgment will be Aunt Hunter, I can only show you what Grandma has given me". Kathleen put her head down and Hunter did the same. In another minute Hunter saw Mike waking up to find Dr. Martin, Angel and Cordelia waiting for him. They all hugged him then he went to his own mother and father and kissed and hugged his mother, who had died 20 years before and his father who had died 27 years before. The picture in her mind faded then. Hunter opened her eyes and hugged Kathleen. "Thank you Kathleen, I think I'll be okay now and we can go home."

Mike Thompson was cremated and they had the funeral the following Saturday. Wesley and Fred went to Ireland with Hunter and Jeff to bury Mike's ashes in the Martin family cemetery. Angel had invited everyone to be buried in the family cemetery since he considered all of them as his family. The following months were hard for Hunter to take since she found herself alone again. She had had many lovers before and had watch them all grow old and die but this time, this time she had asked Christ for an end to her life so that she could join Mike in heaven. He gave her more than she asked for though. He had not only granted her wish to die but had also given her the gift of a son and she would live long enough to see her first grandchild come into the world.

As the days progressed Jeff saw his mother going on more of Kathleen's vision missions and occasionally she came back in bad shape and took longer to heal. It was apparent that she was slowly becoming human just as Angel had. Finally after one such mission Connor and Wesley went to see her in the clinic as she worked on some records that Sean kept on kids that were in Gunn's group.

"Hunter we want to talk to you for a few minutes if you have the time?" Connor asked. "Sure I was just updating some medical records. What's up? You look so serious." Connor cleared his throat first before saying anything. "Wesley and I have been discussing the risks that you have been taking lately and we are here to tell you that we want you to stop going on missions with us. You're like Wesley here, you are just too important to the family now to risk your life or more explicitly your condition. Sean says that you are taking longer to heal now and he believes you are becoming more human as time goes by just like Dad did." "I believe that is my choice to make gentlemen and not yours." Her son Jeff came around the corner after she said that. "No Momma I approached Connor and Uncle Wesley about this problem. I asked them to talk to you about it. Momma I don't want to lose you also. I'm not ready yet." "I won't die yet Jeff. I still have a long time yet." "But in what kind of condition Momma?" Hunter saw the tears coming down her sons face. Hunter thought to herself that she would rather die then purposely hurt her son. "Alright, since you're all ganging up on me, I'll stop going on the missions unless it's absolutely necessary." Jeff came over to his mother and they hugged each other. "I couldn't stand it Momma if I lost you so soon after Dad, Uncle Angel and Aunt Cordy also. I saw how bad it was for Nicky and Mike and I don't want to go through that also." "I'm sorry Jeff I was just missing your father so much I forgot that someone still needed me and I no longer lived just for myself. I'm sorry baby." Connor and Wesley left quietly.

After a few minutes Jeff came out and approached Connor and Wesley. "Thank you Uncle Wesley and Connor she said she won't fight at all unless it is absolutely necessary." They both patted Jeff on the back and said your welcome.

Downstairs in the basement Lou and Fred were ironing all of the boy's clothes along with their own. "You know Fred I think it's about time we had another baby in the house. We've had so many deaths lately I think it's about time to hear the laughter of a new baby again." Lou said as she finished a shirt and put it on a hanger. "Are you pregnant now?" Fred asked. "Not yet but I stopped taking my birth control pills last week." "Does Connor know about your decision?" "No but I think I'll approach him with the idea tonight. I checked my calendar and I believe that if are lucky we should have one started by tomorrow morning. If we do it right, in nine months I should be able to give Connor a princes of his own." Lou was done and was putting the iron and ironing board away. She jumped up to the laundry table and waited for Fred to finish the blouse she was working on.

"I envy you Lou. I always wanted a little girl like Kathleen but Dr. Martin and Thompson said that I should avoid having any more children because it was too dangerous for me to get pregnant again. Dr. Martin said that I was lucky to have made it through my pregnancy with the boys. After Cordelia had Nicky and Mike Angel talked Wesley into having a vasectomy at the same time he did because neither Angel nor Cordelia wanted anymore children. Angel had to practically hog tie Wesley to get him to the clinic to have it done but he was glad he had it done afterwards. Both Cordelia and I babied those two for the next week and when we had waited long enough Wesley and Angels favorite saying became 'Anytime anyplace'." Lou laughed and said "Well I'm not ready for the Connor boys to be cut yet at least not until we have at least one more baby and maybe two." Fred was done with her ironing now so they took all of the clothes upstairs to put them into the appropriate closets.

That night Lou told Connie that her and Connor would be having dinner up in there room. She made a light meal for them in their private kitchen because she didn't want them to be too full to have any activities that night. In the dinning room all of the boys had left the table already and had gone upstairs to do their homework so they could be free for the weekend. Spike walked in while the adults were still sitting at the table and having coffee while talking about the day's activities. "Well look what the cat dragged in." Sean said. Spike was dragging himself from the buffet to the table. He had just come off of a 36 hour tour of duty.

"I don't know how the humans do it or why they still have doctors taking care of patients when their dead tired and barely standing on their feet. People's lives depend on us and yet they still schedule the residents and interns on these long tours of duty. Is it true Sean that they don't have them working these kinds of hours in Great Britain?" "I don't know about England but I know they don't do it in Scotland." Sean said. Spike had been shoveling the food into his mouth all of the time they were talking. "Don't they give you time to eat? You're eating like you haven't eaten since you left." Fred asked. "Just barely, if it wasn't for Sean and Hunter bringing me some blood I don't think I could make it. Last night I got so hungry I almost went out for a snack. When I thought about how far back it would set me I prayed that someone over here would have pity on me and bring me a thermos but guess who showed up?" "Who?" Sean asked. "Buffy. She just happened to show up during a lull in the work and I was able to take her into an empty room where I drank the entire large thermos that she brought me and we had a quickie. She said she sensed through the link we share that I was very hungry for some blood. So at 12 midnight she filled the largest thermos she had with some nice warm blood and took off for the hospital." "Where is she?" Wesley asked. "She went home. She said she let Joyce and the boys go on patrol and she wanted to make sure they were okay. She told me to say hi to everyone. Now that I'm done eating I think I will go to bed and sleep until next year. Where are Connor and Lou?" Spike asked as he stood up.

"They're working on a baby sister or brother for Daniel." Fred said with a smile. "I guess she doesn't want us to get out of practice around here. It's been a long time since Aunt Willow and Tara have had to take care of any newborn babies." Kathleen said. "Well I am going to my room and after I've had enough sleep I am heading for Sunnydale. I have been granted three days off. So I'll see you guys in three days." Spike dragged himself to his room and just fell on the bed without even taking a shower.

Later that night Kathleen was up on the top of the hotel standing guard when Sean joined her. "Hi." Sean said. "Have you come to keep me company again?" "Yes but actually I just wanted to ask you a few questions." "Like what?" "Like did your mother have any problems that you heard about when she was pregnant with you or the boys?" "She said it was a normal pregnancy, except for Daddy's problem, and a normal delivery. Why? Are you worried about me having children?" "Yes, I have Dr. Martins and Thompson's notes on her pregnancy and they all say that there was nothing unusual but I just wanted to make sure. The fact that your father was a Vampire has me concerned." Kathleen turned and looked at Sean. "Don't worry about me Sean. Grandma told me about all of the concerns she had for Momma but she felt silly after I was born because she said it was a completely normal pregnancy and delivery. She also said that I am built like Momma was and Momma was made to have babies. You are the only one that we will have to worry about. Have you talked to Aunt Hunter yet about all of the problems that Daddy had?" "No not yet." "Well I strongly suggest that you talk to her before we get married."

Kathleen noticed a red dot on Sean's forehead and quickly pulled him down behind the wall surrounding the roof. "What's wrong?" Sean said as they both heard a shot ring out. Kathleen quickly ran to the door leading to the inside and pressed a button that was right on the inside. When they had started taking turns guarding the hotel Gunn had put up an alarm that would alert everyone to danger. Kathleen yelled downstairs with magical enhancement "Be careful everyone we have a sniper aiming at us." She ran back to Sean and tried to see where it was coming from. She needed the sniper to take another shot. Within the next second she got her wish and several more shots rang out. She quickly put up a shield in front of the building so that the bullets hit the shield instead. With the shield up she quickly ran around the parameter of the building checking for any intruders. She then looked up when she heard a helicopter appear overhead. She saw about 10 men dressed in black that were being dropped from the helicopter. Even though the hotel had a security alarm on the building along with a spell the top of the hotel was the weakest point and that's why they had a guard on the top. Unfortunately they decided to attack when Kathleen was on guard.

Before one man could set foot on the roof the ropes they were coming down kept on getting shorter. They would come down the rope a little further and the rope would get shorter. After awhile they looked like they were coming down yoyo strings. Finally they let go of the rope and jumped to the roof. Sean started to run forward but Kathleen put her hand on his arm to stop him. He stopped and looked at her. Kathleen closed her eyes for a moment and the men were all raised up and lowered to the ground in the middle of I-5 minus their clothes and guns. The helicopter left and Sean and the rest that had come running up to the roof ran over to see the pile of clothes that had been left behind. Wesley picked up one of the pants. "Someone is very cold right now. Where did you set them down?" "In the middle of I-5 in the San Fernando Valley. We should be hearing about it on the news in the morning. I also took care of the sniper. I wouldn't recommend that anyone go into that building to get him though since I don't know when the building will come down." "What did you do to him?" Connor asked. "Nothing to him but I did melt his gun." Kathleen said. "Is everyone okay?" Kathleen asked. "Yes we checked before we came up." Connor answered. "Well I'm very sleepy now so I think I'll go to bed." Sean watched Kathleen go downstairs. This was the first time that he had seen her use so much magic and he was speechless at how nonchalantly she took it.

Before everyone else left the roof they all picked up the clothes and guns that the Wolfram & Hart men had left behind. On Monday Wesley would send them back by mail.

In the morning everyone was checking the news before they went to church. Connor was sitting on the couch in front of the TV. "Here it is Lou." Lou came running over with a cup of coffee to sit by Connor.

**Reporter: "Early this morning while our news helicopter was taking off from the airport in the San Fernando Valley he quickly found something interesting to film." **The film showed 10 completely nude men running across the I-5 freeway. Jumping the fence and landing in a line of bushes.** "Our reporter quickly notified the police and waited until they were able to gather the men up. The men said that they had been attacked by a group of teenagers as they were returning from a camping trip. They stole all of their equipment and clothes then were dumped on the freeway several hours ago. They were unable to give any description that would help since they all wore ski masks." **

Connor was laughing at the men's predicament. "Aren't you worried that they might take some drastic measures to get rid of Kathleen?" Lou asked Connor. "Yes I am but we've discussed this with her and she said that she can't hide and go to school at the same time. I asked her if she would mind if we sent a body guard with her and she shot that idea down by telling us that it would interfere with her being able to sense danger coming her way. Besides she said that what better body guard could she possibly have other then Dad. She said that she feels his presence close by every time she goes out." "Well I still think we should do something. That girl has a lot depending on her and if something should happen to her we might not recover from it." Lou and Connor got up and finished dressing for Church and met everyone downstairs at 11.

The rest of the day went by quietly and there were no repercussions from the incident with the Wolfram & Hart men. All Sunday Kathleen just stayed in her room and rested her mind by watching cartoons with Sean. He had never seen them before and was having a ball laughing at the antics of Wile E. Coyote and his ever fruitless endeavors to catch the Road Runner. Vicky was in the room with them and quietly sleeping on her dog bed. She had started to show her age lately by sleeping more than usual. Toby spent most of his time in his bed also. He didn't go on missions anymore and instead left that up to his son Angus. All of the dogs had shown an unusual life span. Toby was 17 years old now and Vicky was 14. Angus was 5 and still going strong. They all knew that it was only a matter of time for Toby and Vicky. That night when Connor and Lou went to bed Toby slowly walked over to Connor and licked his face then went to his bed and went to sleep for the last time.

The next morning when Connor opened his eyes and looked over at Toby he knew he had died in the night and had said goodbye for the last time the previous night. Everyone was awakened by the sound of Angus and Vicky howling and announcing the death of Toby. Kathleen knew right away why Vicky was howling and she quickly put on her robe and ran to Connors room. She knocked on the door. Everyone else was joining her in the hallway and asking what was wrong with the dogs. Lou opened the door and let everyone in then went over to Toby's bed.

"He died in the night." Connor said as he looked at Kathleen. Besides Connor, Kathleen was closest to Toby. He was her playmate and guardian. He had saved her when Wesley's father had tried to kill her. He had saved the rest of the men many times when they had gone on one of Cordelia or Kathleen's visions. He had gone on patrol with Connor as a police dog and had helped to capture many law breakers. Kathleen put her arm around Connor's shoulder. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Junior came over and put his arm around Kathleen. Since Kathleen and Junior were always together when they were babies and throughout most of their childhood Junior would miss his onetime playmate also.

Vicky and Angus came over and sniffed at Toby's body then sat back on their haunches and continued their howl. Connor picked Toby up and hugged him and cried silent tears. Everyone would miss him. They all left then to leave Connor and Kathleen with their grief over the loss of their friend.

That afternoon at the lunch table Connor tapped his glass. When everyone quieted down and looked at him he stood up. "I have taken Toby to be cremated and I want to ask everyone if they wouldn't mind if I sent his ashes to Ireland to be buried in the family cemetery? If you don't think that it's proper to bury an animal in a cemetery for humans I'll understand and I'll just ask Mr. Jenkins to create a cemetery for our animals where he can be buried." "Does anyone object to Toby being buried in the family cemetery?" Wesley asked. When no one said anything Connor said "Thank you everyone I can't begin to say how much this means to me."

Just as everyone rose to go their separate ways they felt a light breeze go through the lobby and dinning room. Everyone looked to the stairs. Just as before they saw Angel and Cordelia coming down the stairs except this time they weren't alone. Toby came running down the stairs ahead of them and went running to Connor then to Kathleen. They were surprised that they could feel his tongue on their face but they couldn't touch him. Their hands went right through him when they tried to hug him. He was so happy to see them that his whole body was twisting with each wag of his tail.

Connor looked at Angel and Cordelia. "How is it that we can feel his tongue but we can't touch him?" "Animals don't have souls but when we love them they are allowed to join us in heaven. Toby was greatly loved and God granted this favor to us so that he will be with us always. You can feel his tongue on you because his body more or less came to us when he died so that is why he is more solid but yet can't be touched. We were given permission to come and visit you so that you could see how happy he is.

We also wanted to tell you that the troublesome building across the street will soon fall in on itself so stay out of it. Dr. Martin sends her love to everyone and she wants you to know Kathleen that she is very proud of you. We also want you to know that it's alright to bury Toby's ashes in the family cemetery since he is part of the family. Mr. Jenkins buried Santana's ashes under a tree that is close by the cemetery." Since Toby was done saying hello to everyone and to show Connor that he was happy he went back and gave Connor and Kathleen one last lick then he returned to Angel's side. "We have to go now but we will be with you always." Angel, Cordelia and Toby all turned then and walked back up the stairs and were gone.

Everyone stood up and helped to clear the table then returned to their own rooms. When Connor went to bed that night he let Angus get up on the bed and sleep between Lou and him. Kathleen had done the same for Vicky. She knew that it wouldn't be long before Vicky would be joining Toby so she put her arm around her neck and hugged her.

One month later California had a mild earth quake that measured 3.5 on the Richter Scale (the Richter Scale measures the strength of earth quakes). Everyone was awakened on a Saturday morning by the earthquake and the noise and cloud of dust that came into all open windows. Everyone ran to windows that faced the street. When the dust settled enough to see what happened you could hear everyone cheering in the hotel. The Wolfram & Hart building across the street had finally fallen. Connor came looking for his sister and found her running down the hallway towards him. Connor picked her up and swirled her around. "You did it, you did it. That building that was used for so much evil has finally bit the dust." Everyone was happy all day. They all went out to celebrate at Caritas that night and Lorne gave a round of the first drinks for free. Lou was the only one that was refraining from any alcoholic drinks. Connor noticed this.

"Do you think our baby making activities were successful last month?" Connor asked his wife. "I think we were successful my dear and we will know tomorrow morning when I take the home pregnancy test that I bought today. Just in case we were successful I am abstaining from alcohol." Connor gave Lou a kiss and ordered another round of drinks. Everyone was taking their turn at going up on stage and embarrassing themselves as they continued to drink. Wesley, Connor and Gunn sang the Hawaiian wedding song as Elvis Presley sang it. They were so bad that people were booing them off of the stage.

Just before it was time to go home they were able to get Kathleen to give it a try and hopefully embarrass herself. "All I know that isn't modern music which I don't think you old folks would like to hear is Ave Maria." Kathleen had a soprano voice and everyone became very quiet when Lorne started the music. When she was done everyone was quiet for a while then they all stood up clapping and whistling. Nicky and the other boys had been playing the game machines that were in a separate room but when they heard Kathleen they all came to listen. When she was done Nicky came over to the tables and called out to his sister. "Kathleen, can you sing the Irish lullaby song you used to sing when I was a baby?" "How can you possibly remember that song?" "Mama sang it to me sometimes and she said that you taught her how to sing it when I was a baby. I'm not sure I remember it but here it goes." Once again everyone was quiet while she sang. There wasn't a dry eye in the place by the time she had finished. Everyone was remembering Angel singing the song one night in Caritas. You could hear sniffling and noses being blown. Wesley stood up and announced that it was time to go. They had brought both Connor's and Fred's van but since they were both drunk Lou and Kathleen drove them all home.

Two days later people were seen swarming all over the fallen building. Kathleen told Connor and Wesley that there were several Warlocks inspecting the rubble as well. "Do you think that they will find any connection to us?" Connor asked Kathleen. No I don't think so. I don't want to probe their minds either because that would be a dead give away. Well I'm going to go and get ready for church. Sean wanted me to tell you that he had to go to the hospital this morning because of a large accident on the freeway. Apparently there were a lot of serious injuries and they needed extra help in surgery. He also gave me this envelope to give Lou." Kathleen gave Connor the enveloper then headed up stairs.

After church they all went out for lunch and didn't return until after three that afternoon. The rubble across the street was still being examined when they returned. Everyone went to their own rooms after watching them for awhile. It had been a busy weekend and Kathleen was tired. She was glad that she was going to have the next two weeks off before she started her summer schedule of classes. In two semesters she had managed to complete two years worth of classes for the average student and she was dead tired. After lying in bed for thirty minutes without being able to sleep she went to see Hunter. When she came to her door she smelled the air and knew that she was in her room so she knocked on the door lightly. "Come in Kathleen." Hunter said. She could sense Kathleen's extreme fatigue.

"Hi Aunt Hunter, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" "Sure baby come and sit down over here." Hunter pointed to the chair at the kitchen table. Kathleen sat down at the table and said "Aunt Hunter, is their a way that you can help me to rest my mind like you did Daddy when he had to go to Sunnydale to rest for 30 days? I don't want to take any drugs to make me sleep because it will be an artificial sleep. Do you know what I mean?" "Yes I do, when I was going to school I would get real tired and I knew it wasn't my body that needed the rest but my mind was the one that was smoking. We can try hypnotizing you and making you sleep for 48 hours that way we can make sure that you'll wake up after a certain amount of time. Because of your problem with low blood sugar I'll have to monitor you but I don't think it will be too much of a problem. Why don't you go to your room and take a nice long soak in the whirlpool bath. Fix everything up so that you have nice herbal scents going through the steam and candles around the bathroom. When you're done get into bed and give me a call and I'll come over and send you to La La Land, as Spike calls it." "Okay and thank you for your help."

As Hunter suggested Kathleen put candles and scented oil around her bathroom. Then she slipped into her whirlpool bath that she had placed lots of bubbles in. As she was soaking in the tub soft music was playing. She had been in the tub for almost 20 minutes when she sensed someone in the bathroom with her. She opened her mind to whoever it was and was immediately greeted with hatred and potential violence. She opened her eyes and found a hooded figure standing over her. Before she could do anything the hooded figure pushed her head down in the water and attempted to drown her. Kathleen was too busy trying to keep her head above water to be able to use any magic.

Sean was just coming home and entering the back doors when he felt Kathleen's fear. He jumped up to the third floor and went running into her room. As he entered he sensed a stranger in the bathroom and pulled open the bathroom door. His heart almost stopped beating as he saw someone trying to kill Kathleen. Sean pulled the man away from the whirlpool and threw him out and onto the floor. Connor had heard the commotion and entered the room just as Sean threw the man on the floor. Gunn and Junior were right behind him and between them all they were able to restrain the intruder. Sean went running into the bathroom and reached for Kathleen who was hanging over the edge of the bath tub coughing and trying to get control of her breathing. Sean picked her up out of the water and pulled a large towel around her. He picked her up and took her to the bed. By now she had regained control of her breathing and was just crying. She had never been so afraid when she couldn't catch her breath. Connor came in from the hallway where they had the intruder.

"Are you alright Kathleen?" Connor asked as he took her from Sean and into his arms. "I have never been so scared Connor. All I could think of was getting my next breath of air." Kathleen said as she held onto her brother and cried. Connor rocked her back and forth and pushed her long hair out of her face. "Shhhh its okay now we got the guy that tried to drown you. They must have done something to him for you not to be able to sense him in the room." As Kathleen calmed down she asked for some Kleenex so she could blow her nose. After she blew her nose she was able to calm down more.

"What do you mean they did something to him?" Kathleen asked. Sean went into the bathroom and grabbed her bathrobe so she could put it on. Connor stood her up and Sean stepped in between him and Kathleen while she turned away and let the towel drop then pulled the robe on. Connor went into the bathroom and grabbed a smaller towel so his sister could dry her hair.

When she was ready she walked out into the hallway and looked at the man that almost killed her. When she saw his face she understood why Connor said they must have done something to him.

When he looked at her he smiled and said hello just as though he was meeting her for the first time. When she touched his mind with hers she found nothing. He had no memory of what he had done to her. She looked further into his mind and found memories of working on a farm in Wisconsin with his father. He was a handsome young man that was well built. The long hours of working on the farm were apparent in his physique. His arms were well muscled and it explained why he was able to hold her down in the water so easily.

As Kathleen questioned him further he gave her his name as Jim Wendell and told her where he lived. He couldn't remember anything beyond last month when he had come out to California to visit with some old friends and spend a few weeks at the beach.

"Connor and Wesley, could I talk to you for a few minutes in my room?" They followed her into her room while Sean ran down the stairs to the clinic and grabbed his stethoscope then ran back upstairs and into Kathleen's room.

"What did you find?" Wesley asked Kathleen. "He doesn't remember anything. You might as well just send him home to Wisconsin. I didn't sense him because his mind was a blank. He must have been hypnotized or something because he doesn't remember anything of what he did and his mind is a total blank of the last 30 days or so. His most recent memories are of Sean throwing him to the floor." "They must have hypnotized him there is no other explanation for you're not being able to sense him." Wesley said. Connor went out to the hallway to talk to everyone. "Gunn, could you take him to his friend's house so that he can go home. Kathleen says that they must have hypnotized him because he doesn't remember anything until he found himself being thrown to the floor by Sean."

Gunn took the young man home and told his friends that they found him in their home but that he doesn't remember anything about the last 30 days or so. Jim Wendell went back to Wisconsin vowing never to go to California again.

After everyone had left Sean listened to Kathleen's lungs to make sure that there was no water in her lungs. "Does everything sound okay Dr. McConnell?" Kathleen asked. Sean pulled her up into his lap and hugged her tightly. "I have never been so afraid in all of my long years Kathleen Martin. I thought I had lost you." Sean kissed her and continued to hug her. Kathleen looked up into his eyes and saw the tears threatening to spill. She reached up and pulled his head down to her where she could reach his lips. Sean laid her down on the bed and started to kiss her mouth then traveled down to her neck. He untied her robe and sucked on her round well formed young breasts. Just as his hand started to go between her legs his promise to Cordelia came to his mind and he stopped. He pulled away from her and closed her robe. "What's wrong?" Kathleen asked. "Your mother is tapping on my shoulder and reminding me of my promise to her that I wouldn't have sex with her daughter until she was at least 18." "I guess your right but I was looking forward to having my mind relax and not having to deal with anything more then making love to you." Kathleen reached down inside Sean's pants and felt his erection. She ran her hands up and down his length. Sean took in a sharp breath when she touched him. He quickly pulled her hand up and said "You're a wicked young woman Kathleen Martin." He jumped off of the bed and headed for the door. He ran to his own room and quickly pulled his clothes off and jumped into the shower. The water bill was definitely going to be higher this month.

When Sean left Kathleen put her nightgown on and got into bed then she called Hunter. A few minutes later Hunter was knocking at the door. "Come in Aunt Hunter." Hunter came in and pulled a chair over to the side of the bed. Are you ready to take a nice long nap?" "I sure am, especially after this afternoon." Hunter then proceeded to hypnotize her. After 15 minutes of trying to hypnotize Kathleen she gave up. "Kathleen your mind is too strong for me to hypnotize you. I think it would be better if you could become completely relaxed or else I am the wrong person to do this. If you don't mind I'll call Sean and see if he can do it. You might respond to him better."

"I don't know he may still be in the shower trying to cool down." Kathleen said with a wicked grin on her face. "Don't tell me you were trying to get him to cave in and break his promise to your mother." "That poor man was steaming when he ran downstairs and to his shower." They both laughed.

Hunter took a chance and called Sean's room. "Sean here." "Sean, could you come up to Kathleen's room please?" "Is she alright?" "Yes I just need to see if you could help me with her." "I'll be there in a few minutes."

Sean came into Kathleen's room without knocking. His hair was still wet from his shower and his shirt clung to his back. Hunter and Kathleen were smiling since they knew why he was still wet.

"What are you two up to? When I see two women smiling at me I usually feel like protecting my heart." "Don't be silly and come over here. Pull up a chair by the bed." Hunter said. When she saw him hesitate she said "I promise Kathleen won't do anything to you." Sean looked at Kathleen. She gave him her most innocent smile then showed him her hands to emphasis that she was innocent of all his suspicions. Sean pulled up a chair and sat down. He looked at Hunter.

"Sean can you hypnotize a person." Hunter asked. "Yes, why?" "Kathleen's mind is very tired from all that she has been going through and she wants me to help her go into a deep sleep for at least 48 hours so that her mind can rest. In order for me to help her I need for her to be hypnotized so that I can guide her into a deep sleep. I tried doing it but her mind is too strong for me. I am hoping that she will relax more and open her mind to you since you already share a modified link with her."

Sean leaned back in his chair and thought about Hunters request. "Leave us." Hunter had a good idea as to what he was going to do. Hunter got up and put her chair back by the table. She turned and looked at Kathleen and smiled then closed the door behind her.

When Hunter closed the door Sean went to the window and closed the drapes tightly. It was dark outside so Kathleen knew that he meant to be here until morning. Sean turned the lights off and came to the bed. He could hear Kathleen's heart start to beat faster as he approached the other side of the bed. He removed his clothes then lifted the sheets and blanket and slipped in beside her. Sean ran his hand gently over the side of her face then over her neck and over her shoulder. Her skin was soft and young. He slowly put his hand to the back of her neck and started to message it. Sean could tell she was starting to relax. The more he did it the more her mind relaxed. He gently kissed her. As he pulled his head away Kathleen looked into his eyes. Sean looked back at her and let his eyes go red. All of the time he did this he spoke to her softly and said the same thing over and over again. "You are mine Kathleen Martin, you will always be mine and no one can ever take you away from me." "I am yours and you are mine. We will be together forever and nothing shall tear us apart." Kathleen said as she reached up and kissed him again. "I want you to go to sleep now my love. I want you to go into a deep restful sleep. You will feel safe in the knowledge that I will be beside you and keeping you safe. Sleep now my beloved." Kathleen closed her eyes. Sean heard her heart slow down and sensed her mind start to quiet down. As he promised, he did not leave her side. In the morning he got up and dressed but did not leave the room. He was afraid that she would wake again if she didn't sense his presence. He called down to Connie and asked her to bring him some blood and something to eat in Kathleen's room. When she brought up the food Sean went to the door before she could knock on it. Before she could say anything he put his finger to his lips so she would whisper. "I brought something up for Kathleen also." "She's sleeping and will be out for the next 2 days. Hunter asked me to hypnotize her so her mind could get the rest it needs. Tell Hunter for me that I was successful and that I'll be in here while she is sleeping. I'll call you when I need food okay?" "Okay Dr. McConnell." Connie left then and went back to the kitchen. When Hunter came down she relayed Sean's message.

All of the boys were told to keep it quiet for the next two days while Kathleen slept. Sean kept himself busy by catching up on his medical journals and watching a Warner Brothers cartoon DVD that Kathleen bought for him. Sean checked Kathleen's blood twice during the day to make sure that her blood sugar wasn't getting to low but since her system had slowed way down it stayed at an acceptable level. On the evening of the second day Sean once again lay down beside Kathleen and held her in his arms. He gave her a gentle kiss and said "Kathleen, Kathleen come to me." As he called out to her he could sense her mind starting to awaken and her heart beat starting to increase. As her eyes started to move under her eyelids he called to her again. "Kathleen, I want you to wake up now. You've had a nice long rest and your going to feel well rested when you open your eyes." As Kathleen's heart rate increased he kissed her gently on each eye then her lips as they parted to take in a deep breath. She reached up and put her arms around Sean's neck and pulled him in closer. "Make love to me Sean. Make love to me now." "Kathleen I promised your mother that I wouldn't take you until you were 18." He was weakening though and she could sense it so she pursued him further by reaching down and running her hands over his stomach and lower but yet not reaching under his belt. Once again Sean felt Cordelia tapping him on the shoulder. He pulled away from her and sat on the edge of the bed. Kathleen sat up also; she looked up at the picture of her mother and father and said "Mama go to Daddy and leave Sean and me alone. I am starting to get very angry with you. I only have five months before my 18th birthday so give me a break."

Kathleen threw off the sheets and blanket and stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door. Sean just continued to sit on the edge of the bed and waited while he cooled down. He heard the shower start so he got up and left. He was laughing to himself as he walked over to his own room and took a shower also.

It was 7 o'clock and everyone was gathering in the dinning room. Sean took a seat across from Kathleen instead of next to her. Everyone noticed this but kept quiet. Hunter was the first one to speak. "Do you feel well rested now Kathleen?" Kathleen was still angry with her mother so she didn't hear Hunter at first. "Kathleen, are you alright?" She looked at Hunter and said "I'm sorry Aunt Hunter did you say something?" "Yes I asked if you were well rested now." "Yes, thank you for asking. I had a nice long uneventful sleep."

It was completely silent again. Connor's curiosity was getting the better of him and was just about to say something when Lou kicked him under the table. "Owe! What did you do that for?" Connor just looked at Lou and rubbed his leg. "It's none of your business. If they want you to know they'll tell you." Connor wisely said "Yes Dear." Sean started laughing then and Kathleen couldn't help laughing herself when he started laughing.

"Kathleen has been trying to get me to have sex with her and every time I almost cave in, due to her careful ministrations, I always feel Cordelia tapping me on the shoulder and reminding me of my promise. After I woke her up she tried getting me to make love to her again and to tell you the truth I was one inch away from falling into her spider web when I felt Cordelia tapping me on the shoulder again. Kathleen got so mad when I pulled away from her and sat up on the side of the bed that she just looked at the picture of Angel and Cordelia and said "Mother go to Daddy and leave Sean and me alone. I only have five months before my 18th birthday so give me a break." She stomped into her bathroom then and slammed the door behind her." Everyone was laughing at poor Sean and Kathleen.

"You're lucky you don't have Cordelia trying to get you to have sex. When she was coaching Lou on how to get me to cave in I must have added a hundred dollars to the water bill because I was taking so many cold showers. When she set her sights on Dad he didn't stand a chance and she quickly had him wrapped up in her spider web."

Kathleen looked around the dinning room to see if all of the boys were gone before she said anything. She was glad to see that they had all gone upstairs already. "Aunt Fred, do you remember the time I was born?" Kathleen asked her while still staring at Sean. "I believe it was 8 a.m." Kathleen stood up and looked straight at Sean. "Sean McConnell you had better have a nice big glass of blood in the morning because at exactly 8:01 a.m. on the day of my birthday I will expect you in my bed and making wild passionate love to me and no one had better disturb us for the rest of the day." Sean stood up straight and saluted Kathleen and said "Sir, yes sir." Kathleen just returned his salute and then picked up her place setting and went into the kitchen. Everyone was laughing at them.

Connor got up and put his hand on Sean's shoulder. "These women can be brutal Sean when they want us to make love to them and we refuse. Believe me when I say I know because I had Lou coming after me and she had Cordelia coaching her. You're lucky that Cordelia is working against Kathleen instead of for her otherwise you would be a goner. I finally had to go to Angel and ask him to tell Cordelia to stop coaching Lou. The first time he told her to lay off she just became more secretive about her coaching. The second time I confronted Cordelia in front of Angel. Could you believe it he actually spanked her for coaching Lou when he had told her to stop?" Sean just looked at Connor then Lou. To everyone's surprise Sean just looked towards the ceiling and put his hands together and said "Please God, give me the strength to endure the next five months." He smiled at everyone then turned to go to the clinic. When he went in he noticed a paper in the fax machine. He picked it up and read it then called upstairs to Lou and Connors room. "This is Connor." "Connor, can I talk to Lou for a second?" Connor gave the phone to Lou and told her it was Sean.

"Hello Sean do you need something?" Lou asked. "No this call is just to let you know that I just received the confirmation that you are definitely pregnant. The nearest I can figure is that you're at least 6 weeks pregnant." "Thank you, thank you very much." Lou put the phone down and turned to Connor. "Sean said he just received the confirmation that 'we' are pregnant." Connor picked Lou up and swung her around then gave her a kiss. "Congratulations Mrs. Martin." "Congratulations Mr. Martin."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

During the next 5 months Sean kept his distance from Kathleen. He didn't sit next to her at the dinning room table anymore because she would always find ways to get him hot and it didn't take much to set him off. The only time that they sat together and Kathleen was a good girl was when they were in church. All of the rest of the time Sean found reasons to either be at the hospital or taking care of the poor and homeless that often came to Mrs. Benton's front door. The last month before Kathleen's birthday there was an epidemic of the measles among the homeless children in Gunn's group of kids that lived at the warehouse. Both Sean and Hunter were kept busy immunizing those children that were not sick already. Two of the children became sick enough to need hospitalization when their temperature went to high. 

Kathleen was kept busy with her classes and helping research different demons for Connor. She had also started working with Mike on updating the web site that their mother had started on demons. 

Spike was kept busy with his internship and helping to prepare his suite of rooms for Buffy's arrival in a couple of months. Buffy, Joyce and her sons had been kept busy fighting demons that seemed to be congregating in Sunnydale. Because of the increased activity of demons and Vampires many people had started to move from Sunnydale and whole sections of town were becoming either abandoned or had for sale signs up. Elementary schools were closing down because of a lack of students. Whenever possible, Spike would return to Sunnydale to help his family in fighting the frequent demon and vampire attacks that were taking place all over town. Spike would always return to L.A. with stories of battles that his children fought by themselves as their mother and father just stood back and watched.

Lou was experiencing morning sickness all through her pregnancy and was glad to find a place that sold the tea that she needed to drink. The big surprise in this pregnancy was that Connor was having sympathy pains right along with Lou. It wasn't exactly like Angel had but more like what some men feel when their wives are pregnant. One Saturday afternoon Sean came in and caught Connor raiding the kitchen and making two huge ice cream Sundays. "Are you having the same cravings as Lou Connor?" "Yes and she is driving me crazy with her weird cravings. At times like this I remember how Dad was when Cordelia was pregnant. One time he ordered an Ice Cream Sunday at a restaurant that was so big that he needed help to eat it and he stuffed so much down his throat that he threw it all up about 30 minutes later. Well now I know exactly how he felt." Connor threw away the empty containers of ice cream, whip cream and chocolate syrup. The only thing left to put back in the refrigerator was the jar of cherries. "See you later." Connor said as he picked up his creations and went upstairs. 

The next day at Supper Sean was telling everyone about Connor's creations and his cravings. Connie had made barbequed ribs and chicken for supper and everyone's hands were a mess with all of the barbeque sauce. Kathleen decided to play with Sean's mind tonight. They hadn't seen each other for the past couple of days with all of Kathleen's classes' morning, noon and night and Sean's work at the hospital. Hunter had been helping Sean to learn to put up a shield against Kathleen's mind so tonight she was going to try something different. She wasn't going to use any magic or attempt to get into his mind. Tonight she was going to use just her fingers and mouth. As Sean finished his Supper he made the mistake of looking at Kathleen and she used that mistake against him. As he watched her eat her last rib he became mesmerized by her actions. 

Kathleen carefully and slowly licked the rib up one side and down the other then started to daintily pick off the meat at the end of the rib. Then she put the rib down and slowly started to lick her fingers one by one. As she got to her middle finger she slowly pushed it all of the way into her mouth. Not once did she stop looking at Sean as she performed this ritual. She didn't notice though that Fred was watching her also. "Kathleen stop that you're going to hurt him." That broke Sean's concentration and he jumped up and ran to his room and into the shower. 

"What's wrong?" Nicky asked. "Nothing, Kathleen was just teasing Sean." Kathleen just had a big grin on her face when Nicky and Mike looked at her. "What was she doing?" "None of your business and if you keep asking questions I am going to show Debbie, your girlfriend, how to do the same thing that I did to Sean." Kathleen said. 

"Girl friend, Nicky has a girl friend?" Connor asked. "Yeah he met her at the party he went to last week." Kathleen said. "You told her didn't you?" Nicky asked Mike. "I didn't mean to. She tricked me. She said she could smell some pretty smelling perfume on you and wanted to know who you were with so she could ask her where she bought the perfume. I'm sorry Nicky." Mike said. "I'm never telling you anything again." Nicky said. 

Connor stood up and, in a loud voice said "Well Spike, Wesley, Junior and Gunn I think that it's time to partake in some intensive training for the young men in our group." Wesley was pretty sure he knew what Connor was talking about. "Yes I think it's time also." Wesley said as he got up. Gunn and Junior stood up also and they all went outside to the patio. All of the boys followed them out. Connor called to Joaquin to join them also as he passed by the kitchen. The women just got up and cleared the table for Connie and helped her clean the kitchen up. Fred told the other women what Kathleen had been doing to Sean. "Well what do you expect, she is Cordelia's daughter after all and she learned from the master." Lou said. 

After Kathleen was done she went up and knocked on Sean's door. He didn't answer. "I know you're in there Sean so you might as well let me in." Sean came and opened the door. "Come in." Sean went back to the couch in front of the television. Kathleen could see that he was watching a baseball game. She came in and carefully closed the door then walked over and leaned over the back of the couch and put her arms around his neck. 

"Why do you do things like that to me Kathleen? You can't possibly understand how bad it makes me feel that I can't make love to you yet." Sean turned around and got on his knees on the couch so he could look at her. "You know I could tease you in the same way but it wouldn't do me much good since women don't have any outward sign that they are boiling over. You are a mean woman Mary Kathleen Martin and I am this close to going out and finding a woman to have sex with." Sean showed how close he was to doing something he would regret by showing her his fingers just an eighth of an inch apart. Kathleen just kissed his fingers gently. Then she reached for his face with her hands and drew him into a kiss. With a straight face she said in a low voice "If I should ever find out that you went shopping elsewhere your new name would be stubby." She kissed him again. "I have to write some reports so I am going to leave you with this parting gift." She reached down to his belt and undid it and his pants then reached for his growing erection and stroked it repeatedly until he had an orgasm. As excited as he already was it didn't take her long. At the end of the gift Kathleen kissed Sean once and then turned and left his room while Sean was just hanging over the back of the couch. He had only one comment to make about his experience "INNOCENT MY EYE".

The week after finals it was Kathleen's birthday but Sean had been busy almost around the clock at the hospital. At first she thought he was staying away on purpose and making up stories about being busy all of the time. At 8:01 a.m. on the day of her birthday Kathleen was waiting for him in her prettiest nightgown and had carefully closed the drapes so that not even a sliver of light came through. She waited for 2 hours for him to show up. After 2 hours she started searching for his mind and found him at the hospital in surgery. By then she was starving so she got dressed and went down stairs to get some breakfast. Everyone else had already cleared out and was attending to there own personal business. For Fred and Lou it was planning a private birthday party for Kathleen. May Ling and Suzy were invited to the party. Suzy had asked Lou if she could bring someone to the party. She told Lou that it was a young man that had always had a crush on Kathleen. Lou and Fred just looked at each other and Lou said "This could have possibilities." They laughed about it. Apparently their minds were working on the same idea. Lou told Suzy that it was okay to bring the young man. 

At 7 that evening Kathleen came in to the Lobby and found the dining room full of Happy Birthday Kathleen balloons and a pile of presents on what used to be the children's table. Even though her heart was breaking Kathleen put on a happy face and pretended to be surprised and happy. Connor could sense her unshed tears though. Kathleen asked everyone to sit down and have supper. Since Sean wasn't there Bobby, the young man that Suzy had brought with her, sat across from Kathleen. Fred noticed that Kathleen's eyes were constantly going to the doors and looking, she presumed, for Sean. At the same time Bobby's eyes were constantly on Kathleen. Suzy and May Ling, in the mean time, kept up a constant stream of conversation with everyone. 

When it came time for the desert Lou asked May Ling, Suzy and Bobby to move their chairs so the cake could be delivered in front of Kathleen. All of the dinner plates and food was removed from the table and someone turned off the lights. Someone started walking towards Kathleen with a large cake with 18 candles creating enough light to see their way towards her. They were all singing happy birthday. 

"Make a wish Kathleen then blow the candles out." Mike and Nicky shouted. Kathleen closed her eyes and made her wish then took a deep breath and blew the candles out. Everyone clapped then the lights were turned on and Kathleen started to cut up the cake and place them on plates while Fred put a scoop of ice cream on each plate. Connie knew how Kathleen liked her cake and ice cream so she gave her a bowl so she could smash it all together. 

When she was done eating her cake and ice cream Mike got up and went to the table where the presents were and grabbed his gift to her. All of the time Kathleen was smiling and opening presents she was constantly searching for Sean's mind. She couldn't find him though. When all of the celebrating was over she went into the chapel to be alone for awhile. As usual Grandma Lucinda made her evening visit before she went to bed. As she approached the chapel she heard someone crying. When she looked inside she saw Kathleen kneeling and crying. She quietly walked inside and took a seat next to Kathleen and put her hand on her back and rubbed her back. 

"What is wrong Kathleen?" Kathleen had been crying so hard and feeling sorry for herself that she was startled when she felt Grandma Lucinda's hand on her back. She sat up straight then and looked at the old woman. "Grandma Lucinda I haven't seen Sean all day and he hasn't even tried to call me. He said he would be with me this morning and he wasn't. I tried searching for his mind and I can't find him." Kathleen started crying again. 

"My little girl you have fallen in love with a grown man that has responsibilities outside of this family. Dr. McConnell is needed at the hospital. Would you like for someone to suffer or maybe even die just so that he can be with you. You are being selfish by making such demands on him. If you were able to contact him with your mind you may interrupt his train of thought just when he has to be concentrating on what he is doing. Would you like for someone to possibly die just so that you could ask him when he is coming home to you?" "No." "You are 18 years old now Kathleen. When I was eighteen young girls my age already had children that they had to think of and husbands to take care of also. It's time to grow up now and stop thinking of yourself so much now and what you want. If you want to share your life with Sean then you must start thinking of him and what his needs are also." "That's what Grandma told me also. She said that I was being selfish and only thinking of myself and what I wanted. I guess Momma knew what she was talking about when she wanted Sean to wait until I was eighteen before we had sex. If we had done it before I would have been too immature to understand what you and Grandma Martin have told me." Kathleen gave Grandma Lucinda a hug and said "Thank you Grandma Lucinda. I think I'll be okay now. Everything has always come so easily to me that it was hard for me to learn this lesson." She got up then and left the chapel and returned to her room. 

She was deep in thought as she approached her room so she didn't notice the light on. Kathleen just opened the door and went in and to the bathroom to take a shower. When she came out she put a nightgown on and went to sit in front of her computer to check for any e-mail that she may have received that day. As she was waiting for her computer to come up she suddenly became aware of someone else in the room. She called out softly "Sean". She received no answer so she got up and carefully walked over to the patio doors and looked out. There was no one there though so she closed the drapes carefully and started back to the computer when she noticed Sean sleeping on the couch. He was turned towards the back of the couch and holding onto a pillow and snoring softly. She noticed that he still had his surgical greens on. She carefully took his shoes off and got a blanket and covered him then gave him a kiss on his cheek. Her heart immediately felt lighter now that she knew where he was. She went and turned her computer off and turned the lights off and crawled into bed. It had been a long and emotionally draining day and night and she was tired. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was out. 

At 3 o'clock in the morning Kathleen woke up when she felt Sean's body next to hers. He started to kiss her eyes when he heard her heart starting to beat faster. As she opened her eyes he kissed her lips gently until she started to respond by putting her arms around his neck. Sean reached down under the sheets and pulled her nightgown off of her as she sat up. He threw it to the end of the bed then returned in his pursuit of her lips. As he pressed his lips against hers he forced her mouth open and pursued her tongue with his. Kathleen did some pursuing of her own as she ran her nails up and down his back. Sean had a narrow waist and a tight behind. She ran her hands all over his body and reveled in the feel of his clearly defined muscles. All of the exercising that the rest had put him through made him even more attractive to her. She had often caught herself salivating as she watched him exercising. More than once Lou had to tap her on the shoulder to get her attention back to what she was doing when they were exercising together. Now she was finally able to indulge her many fantasy's that she had thought up while watching him from across the room. 

Sean was concentrating on her breasts as he made love to her. As he paid close attention to every inch of his Beloved he made note of every time that she let out a low moan to signal to him that he had given the proper amount of attention to a particularly sensitive area. Kathleen felt a heat in her rising to the point that she thought she would catch fire but Sean quickly cooled them with his mouth and tongue. Her hips started to move against him of their own volition and he knew that she was getting close to her first orgasm. He reached down to the area between her legs and assisted her by inserting two fingers into her opening while his thumb gently circled her clitoris. Kathleen quickly reached her mountain peek. It wasn't his technique that had given her the boost up that last few inches to the top of the mountain, no, all it took was his touch. Sean didn't let up though as she slowly came down from that mountain. He continued to play with her. He slowly widened the tight circle that had to be stretched in order for him to gain admittance into her inner container of pleasures for him. As he reached far into her inner chamber he felt her hymen break but he had been so careful with her in widening that circle that Kathleen hardly noticed it. She was still engulfed in the waves of pleasure that she felt from her first orgasm. 

As Sean carefully administered to Kathleen he could feel his own inner fire rising to an intolerable heat. He knew he would need release himself soon but he didn't want Kathleen's first experience to be a painful one so he continued to gently push his fingers into her inner chamber. He would have been successful to if it hadn't been for Kathleen reaching for his now hard erection and guiding him into her. "Kathleen, this may hurt so tell me if it's too painful for you and I'll stop." "Do it Sean, I'll be alright." He slowly pushed himself into her. "Do it all it once Sean, I think if you do it all at once it will be easier on me." Without further encouragement Sean pushed himself in her all at once with one hard thrust. Kathleen grabbed onto his shoulders and cried out in pain. Instead of trying to pull away from him though her hips rose to take all of him inside her. That encouraged him to continue and as she approached her second orgasm he let his face change into his Vampire visage and bit into her neck as he continued to thrust himself into her faster. Kathleen screamed but quickly put her hand to her mouth so that she wouldn't wake anyone. As they both found release at the same time Sean couldn't hold himself up any longer and fell on top of Kathleen. It was only then that Sean realized that they were floating above the bed. As Kathleen's breathing returned to normal they slowly came down from the lofty heights of their lovemaking and also to the bed. Sean reached for the sheets and blanket and pulled them over themselves. He pulled his Beloved close to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Kathleen once again felt loved and cherished. She closed her eyes then and slept the sleep that only contentment could bring. 

The next morning as Kathleen opened her eyes she saw Sean watching her. "Good Morning." Sean said as he gave her a light kiss on her forehead. Kathleen's head had been resting on his arm. "Mmmm good morning. What time is it?" Sean looked at the clock on the nightstand. "It's 9:30. Don't you think that it's time for us to get up?" "No, I want to stay right here until tonight and it's time for you to make love to me again." "Why wait until tonight when we can do it now?" Sean started to make love to her again. This time though Kathleen wanted to be the pursuer. Just as though she had done it many times before she gave Sean a blow job that had him calling out her name over and over again. As he laid on the bed breathing hard he looked over at Kathleen. "Where did you learn how to do that?" Theater in Covina. I believe it's the same one that Aunt Fred and my mother went to when they first got married." "How did you get in? You have to be at least eighteen to get into those places." "I used a little magic and made Suzy and I look ten years older. They didn't even ask for any ID." "Well if that was your school then I am giving you an A ." They just lay there for a while until Sean's breathing became more normal. 

"Let's get up I am so hungry I could eat a horse." Sean said. Kathleen rolled over on top of Sean and pulled her hair to the side and presented her neck to him. Sean just reached down though and gave a good whop to her bare behind. "Stop trying to temp me young lady. I can't do that too often or you'll start getting weak from the loss of too much blood. Now get up so we can go and take a shower and go and get something to eat. We've been up here so long your brother is going to start thinking that I've turned you or something." 

They got up and took a shower then got dressed. Before they left the room Kathleen put her hand on Sean's arm to stop him. "Sean, why couldn't I read your mind when I was searching for you yesterday? I was scared that something had happened to you." "I've been working with Hunter and Willow so that I could learn to shield my mind against you." "Why in heavens name would you want to do that?" "I can't have you getting into my mind Kathleen when I am in the middle of surgery or consulting with someone else on a patient. I asked Hunter and Willow to help me because I wanted to be able to shut it off and on as I needed it. Yesterday I could hear you calling me but I was in surgery most of the day and I couldn't risk any interruptions. Do you understand?" Kathleen wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. "Yes I understand. Last night before I came up to my room I was in the chapel crying because you hadn't even called me to let me know where you were or why you hadn't come to my bed at 8 yesterday morning. Grandma Lucinda came in for her evening prayers before going to bed and she found me feeling sorry for myself. She had a long talk with me and made me understand how selfish I was being and that I shouldn't bother you for such simple things because you might be in the middle of surgery or something important where you couldn't afford to have your thoughts interrupted by my questions. I apologize for bothering you Sean and I'll try never to do it again unless it's a matter of life or death." She reached up then to give him a kiss then they went downstairs.

Even though it was late there were a few people at the dinning room table having some coffee. Connor came out of his office when he saw Kathleen and Sean walking by his office door. He followed them over to the dinning room. Sean sat down while Kathleen went into the kitchen to warm up a large mug of blood for him. No one said anything they all just stared at Sean. Kathleen brought out his mug of blood then went back into the kitchen to fix something for them to eat. After fifteen minutes she came out with two plates of scrambled eggs and pancakes that she made from an already made mix that she found in the refrigerator. 

"Why is everyone so quiet?" "We're waiting to see if you're going to start glowing or something." Connor said with a grin. Kathleen didn't say anything she just gave them a big smile then she made her aura more visible to everyone. It appeared as a soft blue light that they knew showed her contentment and happiness. Sean's pager went off after fifteen minutes and since he was done with his breakfast he got up and bent over and kissed Kathleen. "Eighteen is such a magical number don't you think?" "It's my favorite." Kathleen said as she kissed him back. Sean left then to go into the clinic while Kathleen stayed and finished her breakfast. "I have to go to school today and buy my books for the coming semester Connor does anyone want to go with me?" "I need to go to the regular book store also so I can pick up some books to teach with. Daniel and Jerry Lee will be starting 5th grade next semester and all of my books are old now. You want to go Fred?" Wesley asked. "Yes, I need to get some supplies to fix up the walls in the classrooms. When are you going?" Fred asked. "How does 20 minutes sound?" Kathleen asked. "Twenty minutes it is then. Are you sure you can walk okay?" Wesley asked with a grin. As soon as he said it he turned beet red and just put his head down. Everyone finally busted out laughing because everyone knew what Sean and Kathleen had been doing.

Kathleen just picked up Sean and her dishes and as she walked away they could hear her saying "Just fine Uncle Wesley, just fine." They all busted out laughing again as they separated to go and start their days activities. 

By the time Kathleen, Wesley and Fred came back they had several loads of books and supplies for the class rooms for Fred. Wesley's books were almost as big and heavy as Kathleen's. 

As they went up to their rooms they could hear Spike working on the rooms for his children, Joyce, Eddie and Will. Before Kathleen went into her room he came out of the last room covered in paint. "What in heavens name happened to you?" Kathleen asked. "I backed up to look at my masterpiece and tripped over the bucket of paint I had left on the floor. As I tried to catch myself my foot caught in the handle and it went flying in the air and landed right on top of me." Spike just looked at her with a poor me look. "Can you help me?" Kathleen waved her hand and all of the paint lifted off of him and disappeared. Spike gave her a kiss and went to his own room to take a shower before going to the hospital. Kathleen took all of her books into her room and started looking them over. Vicky was lying on the bed next to her as she flipped through the pages of her new school books. It was 6:30 when they made it back home and it was almost time for Supper when Kathleen had a vision. She wrote everything down when it was done and went running down the stairs. She found Connor in his office and gave him the paper with the address on it. Connor jumped up and called upstairs to Gunn, Junior and his brothers. This was going to be the first time for Nicky and Mike to go on a mission. When Kathleen saw Nicky and Mike coming downstairs she told Connor 'I'm going too.' Connor was glad to have her along since this was their brothers first time on a mission. He didn't want to use his brothers but he was short of people with Spike having to work tonight. When Buffy, Joyce, Eddie and Will arrived he would have more than enough but now he was short of more experienced people and if there was injuries then Kathleen would keep it down to a minimum. As usual Kathleen didn't step in unless she was needed. She noticed that Gunn was having a hard time with those he was fighting and seemed to tire early in the fight. Without him noticing it she gave him a little assistance by making the Vampire he was fighting slip so that Gunn was able to easily cut his head off with his now famous axe that his boys had made out of an old Chevrolet hub cap. Along with Nicky and Mike, Angus was dispatching Vampires with the spike that he had inherited from his father when he stopped fighting. In the beginning Angus used to just sit back and watch his father, Toby, kill vampires. One day he just picked up his own spike that Connor had carved for him and went after a vampire of his own and from then on he fought the good fight along side his father. When Toby became too old to fight, and nobody knows why, Angus started using Toby's spike. 

Everyone came back in around 9 pm. Connor was tired but he was able to race his brothers upstairs. Of course he lost but it made him feel good to do it. Gunn was walking a lot slower and Kathleen and Junior walked up the stairs with him. Gunn stopped halfway up and looked at Kathleen. "Don't think that I didn't notice the assistance you gave me little girl. I want to thank you; I was getting pretty tired when you helped me." "Don't mention it Uncle Gunn I was happy to help." "I guess it's time for me to hang up my axe now. I think I'll just work on cases that walk through the doors when Connor needs me otherwise I'll keep myself busy with working with my crew to help the poor." "We'll be fine Uncle Gunn. When the Summers family gets here we'll have more than enough to help with the missions." After everyone cleaned up they were having dinner at the dinning room table when Gunn broke the news to Connor. Wesley was having coffee while everyone else ate their dinner so he heard Gunn's news also.

"Connor I have to tell you that I will no longer be going on the missions with you once Buffy and her kids get here. I think it's time for me to hang up my axe and take it easy like Wesley here. I don't have the energy I used to and I'm getting slower. If it wasn't for Kathleen's help I might have been on the slab waiting to be cremated." "I'm glad you decided that for yourself because I've noticed you have been having a problem for the last few months. I didn't have the heart to tell you to stop going on the missions. I thought you might as well go down in a blaze of glory if you didn't want to stop on your own." Connor said. Gunn looked at Wesley for his comments but Wesley just grinned back at him and kept his mouth shut tight. As they were walking upstairs you could hear Wesley's two cents all over the Lobby. "What do you mean take it easy like Wesley?" 

The next few days were spent in helping Spike finish up his family's rooms. Joyce, Eddy and Will all had their own suite of rooms. The only thing that wasn't the same as the rest of the rooms was that the stoves weren't connected in the boy's rooms. Spike told everyone that he wanted to make sure that the boys took part in the family gatherings at supper time since that was most likely the only time that he would get to talk to them. Joyce was a lot more talkative so he knew that she wouldn't be a problem. At sixteen he said she needed some alone time with the other women sometimes or just by herself. He figured her jaw needed a rest sometimes. "Besides, Buffy told me to do it like this." They all laughed when he finally told them the truth of his supposed decision. 

One month later Spike requested a week off to move his family down to L.A. Kathleen had made up a banner to hang under the second story banister. It read "WELCOME TO L.A. SUMMERS FAMILY". Connie made a large meal of barbeque ribs and steaks for everyone along with corn on the cob, Cole slaw and big bowls of pork & beans along with garlic bread. When they pulled up to the back with the moving van Joyce jumped out of the van and went running to Kathleen. They were so happy to see each other they were practically dancing. Eddy and Will went over to Nicky and Mike and acted more macho by just shaking hands but after a minute though they all hugged each other. Buffy went over to Fred, Lou and Hunter and gave them a kiss and hug. Willow and Tara had moved with them also and were taking part in the big hug fest. Even Angus's female litter mate, who they had named Penny, was taking part in the greetings. Vicky, their mother, was excited also but took things more sedately as her age dictated. Connie called everyone into supper before it got cold.

Connor and Joaquin had opened up the table and put in all of the extra parts in so that they could accommodate the expanding family. The only people that were missing now were Giles and Tom, who were still in England, and Peter who was still working in Hawaii while he gained experience working with a local law firm. Father Maxwell had joined them as well so that he could get to know the four new souls that would be under his care. 

After they were all finished eating and the table cleared Connie had brought in a cake for the celebration of the two family's joining forces. They sat around talking for a long time afterwards. Nicky was the only one missing after supper because it was his turn to stand watch on the roof. 

"How were things in Sunnydale when you left Buffy?" Wesley asked. "Bad Wesley, really bad, the place looks like a ghost town now. There are for sale signs up all over the place because of all of the weird stuff that has been happening. Before we left we were killing so many vampires and demons that it seemed like they were coming out of the proverbial woodwork. Before we left I had my mother's grave dug up and I had her remains cremated. If you don't mind Connor I would like to have my mother's ashes sent to Ireland so she can be with the rest of us. I didn't really care for the idea of her remains sinking into a hell hole." "Sure Buffy, no problem." Connor answered. "I'll call Mrs. Jenkins and let her know that she's coming and where she is to be buried." Wesley said. "Why Mrs. Jenkins, did something happen to Mr. Jenkins?" Connor asked. "Mr. Jenkins died three months ago of a heart attack. Mrs. Jenkins said that her son and his family are going to be moving to Ireland this month to take over the family business and Angels home. Maybe you know them Buffy she said that her son and his family live in Sunnydale California." Wesley said. "Yes we do, the Jenkins lived right down the street from us. They told us they were moving this month also when we last saw them. Willow, Xander and I went to school with Penny Jenkins. In fact she is the one that we named Penny after. Small world isn't it." 

"I forgot all about Xander and Giles store. When are they moving here?" "They're not moving here. Xander and his crew are moving to a location that's just outside of the town perimeter. He figures that people will want to build again and the government will get them started with loans. All of the land is undeveloped and belongs to a cattle rancher that doesn't raise cattle anymore. There are a few warehouses on the outskirts of the property so they've bought two of them. Anya is moving the entire store over there this week and Xander is paying his crew to help him to convert it into living quarters for all of them. He said it's going to be kind of like the Hotel is for us. He said he has been able to buy all of the supplies that they need to renovate the place because the stores are selling everything at a big discount. He's loading up the other warehouse with building supplies. If things go as he figures they will he should make a big killing." Buffy told everyone. 

Spike stood up then and said "I think it's time to call it a night everyone. I work tomorrow night at the hospital so I think we had better at least bring in the suitcases with our clothes then turn in. Buffy has to register Joyce and the boys this week so we have a lot to do. We'll unload everything tomorrow."

"I just realized that Dawn wasn't here." Kathleen said. "Dawn moved to Sacramento where our father lives now. She got a job teaching at a High School up there. You should have seen the old high school Wesley. It feels weird walking through the empty hallways. Since the library is still the focal point of the hell hole we still had to go their frequently." "I thought that opening had been closed when you and the rest blew up the old High School." Wesley asked. "It was but they were able to open it up again." "Okay no more talk. We live here now so you can talk all you want later. Let's get those suitcases Will and Eddy." Spike said as he picked up Buffy by the shoulders. Nicky and Mike went with them so they could help. Connor, Junior, Gunn and Wesley went with them also. Sean came home just in time to help with the carrying of the suitcases. This was going to be the first time that Joyce was going to meet Sean. As he passed by in front of her she looked at Kathleen and gave a low whistle. 

Spike put his and Buffy's suitcases by their room then he led the boys and Joyce to their rooms. When he led everyone to the boy's rooms you could hear Eddie and Will whooping and hollering all over the hotel. Next he led everyone to Joyce's room. When Spike turned on the lights and led his daughter into her room she just stood there and cried. "Oh Daddy this is beautiful. You did a real good job." Joyce turned and kissed her father. "Thank you Daddy, thank you." "Anything for my princes. I want you to know that I had the stove hooked up so that you could cook up here when you needed some space but I left the stoves off in the boy's rooms so that they couldn't burn the hotel down." "How come Joyce gets a working stove and we don't?" Eddy asked. "Because you're too young to have the responsibility of cooking on your own. Don't forget that I was young once and I know how your minds work." "Yeah Dad but that was over 200 years ago." Spike just gave them a dirty look then he broke into a grin. "If you think about it you will understand when I say that I haven't seen any change in the human male in all of those years, now get to bed." The boys knew they were defeated with that last statement so they just said goodnight and went to their own rooms. 

As everyone left to go to their own room Joyce noticed that Sean followed Kathleen into her room. Penny usually slept with Joyce so she had to wait for her to come back from her new backyard excursions with Angus. Penny had her uterus and ovaries taken out so everyone knew it was okay for Angus and her to be together. Vicky had already taken care of her business and was fast asleep in her bed in Kathleen's room. Angus walked Penny back to her new room with Joyce then he went to Connors room and pushed at the door that Connor had left slightly open for him. After he was in Angus pushed at the door again until he heard the door click shut. 

At 6 AM the next morning Sean heard someone knocking softly on Kathleen's door. He got up and pulled his pants on then went to the door. It was Joaquin. "Is something wrong Joaquin?" "Yes Dr. McConnell, I believe my mother passed away during the night." After grabbing his stethoscope Sean followed Joaquin to Mrs. Sanchez's room. When they entered the room he could see Connie sitting on the bed next to her mother in-law. "Please let me sit by her Connie." Connie got up and went to stand by her husband. Sean put his stethoscope on and listened to Mrs. Sanchez's heart. It was silent. He couldn't sense any brain activity nor feel even a faint pulse. He turned to Connie and Joaquin. "I'm sorry Joaquin but your mother has died in her sleep. I don't think she suffered at all." He got up then and went back to Kathleen. "Kathleen wake up." When her eyes were open he gave her the news then called Connor. His next phone call went to Fr. Maxwell. "Hello this is Father Maxwell Dunston, can I help you." "Yes Fr. Maxwell this is Sean McConnell, could you come to the Hotel Mrs. Sanchez has passed away during the night." "I'll be there as soon as I can." 

After telling everyone on the first floor Connor and Lou went upstairs to be with Connie and Joaquin. Fred and Wesley were up there already. Buffy, Spike and their children were waiting outside in the hallway with Gunn and his family. When Connor and Lou went in they both immediately went over to Connie and Joaquin and hugged them. Kathleen came in and hugged Connie and Joaquin also then she turned and looked for Junior. As soon as she spotted him she went to him and gave him a kiss on his cheek and hugged him. She then turned to the bed and said goodbye to Grandma Lucinda. Since Kathleen always led the family in prayer at meals they looked to her to start the prayers. Kathleen took out her rosary and kneeled at the bed. Everyone followed her example and they said the Chaplet of Divine Mercy then the Rosary. By the time Fr. Maxwell came in they were done and he proceeded to give Grandma Lucinda the last rites of the Church. 

When they were done the funeral home came in to get her body and prepare it for burial. Grandma Lucinda had given specific instructions to her son that she was to be buried and not cremated. In the old days the Catholic Church had forbidden cremation but now because of the high cost of a plot of earth for burial they had allowed cremation. Mrs. Sanchez was of the old school though and had grown up with the idea that cremation was forbidden. Joaquin got on the phone and called his brother and sister to let them know that their mother had passed away. Connor had already told him that they could stay at the hotel while they were here. 

After they had taken Lucinda Connie went into the kitchen to start breakfast for everyone. The women all understood that she needed to keep herself busy or else she would think too much. They all pitched in where ever they could. When they all sat down to eat Connor invited Connie and Joaquin to sit with them. He knew that Mrs. Sanchez was the one that wanted them to keep themselves separate from the family since they work for them. When everyone was settled Kathleen tapped her glass and waited for everyone to turn to her. She started the Morning Prayer when she was sure that she had everyone's attention. "Dear Heavenly Father we thank you for this food that we are about to eat, we thank you for giving Connie the talent to make the food so delicious but most of all we want to thank you for taking Grandma Lucinda. We thank you that her passing was a peaceful one and we know that she will be happy to be with you and see Momma, Daddy and Grandma again. Amen." Everyone echoed her Amen and started eating their breakfast. 

The next few days were busy for the Summers family since they had to get settled in. Everyone helped to move all of their furniture into either their rooms or down in the basement where Buffy would have to decide which pieces of furniture was to be given to charity and which would be held for Dawn until she could pick them up. After she registered Joyce, Will and Eddy they went shopping for school clothes. At the Hotel everyone was pitching in to get the rooms ready for the Sanchez family. They had to get a total of ten rooms ready for Joaquin's brother and sister's family. Both his brother and sisters families would need five rooms each. At the end of the first night after Lucinda's death Connie just made hamburgers and French fries for everyone and they took them to their rooms. When they were all in the dinning room gathering their food they all looked at Kathleen and said at the same time, "Please Kathleen no visions for the next two weeks at least." "I can't promise anything guys. Grandma said it would be quiet for the next two weeks but she didn't say that it would be dead quiet." 

The only people that were getting out of the work were Sean and Cylindia. They were both busy at either the hospital or Gunn's kids. They had had several attacks by gangs that were mad at them for taking potential gang members away and they had five of the boys in the hospital. Gunn and his boys were being kept busy and several times they had called on Connor and the AI team to help them. 

They were expecting all of the Sanchez family on Friday. Fred and Connie had gone grocery shopping on Thursday so that they could have enough food for the large group of people that they would have at the hotel for the next week or two. Joaquin's sister and her family lived in Silicon Valley and both she and her husband were programmers. His brother still lived in Mexico and had a small ranch. Both were scheduled to be in Los Angeles by 7 for supper. 

Joaquin and the other men brought up the extra sections to the dinning room table and rented another table, which was half as long, while everyone was there. Fred had everyone putting supplies into all of the bathrooms at the last minute and when they heard people coming in downstairs they all came running to meet the new guests.

Joaquin, Connie and Junior met everyone at the back. Hugs and kisses were shared along with lots of tears. They brought all of the suitcases in along with one baby carrier then Connie called everyone to Supper. After everyone got their food, Kathleen as usual, tapped her glass for everyone's attention so that she could give the evening prayers. When she was done and everyone echoed her Amen they dug in. Sean, Hunter and Spike were the only ones that had drinks brought in for them in colored mugs so that people wouldn't see the blood they were served. Connie had made fried chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy and several vegetables along with salad and bread that Kathleen had made. Even though her father wasn't with them to eat the Irish bread anymore Kathleen still made it every few days from the same pot of yeast that her mother had so carefully tended to make sure that the yeast stayed alive. 

Joaquin was finally able to introduce his family to the AI and Scooby group after everyone was done eating and were just sitting back and drinking their coffee or tea. He named all of them first and what they did with the groups then he introduced his family and what they did. 

Joaquin first introduced his older brother Manuel Sanchez who owned a small ranch in Mexico. His wife Sarah, his adult children Jason, Rose, Juanita and her husband Joe and their children, 3 month old Maria and 2 year old Carlos. Then he introduced his younger sister, Maria and her husband Alexander. Their adult children Sandra, Janet, Pamela and her husband Frank and son Jerry who was 12. 

Joaquin made it well known that Maria and Alex, as he preferred to be called, were programmers in the computer security industry. When Willow heard that her ears perked up. "When you have time Alex and Maria, Mike and I would like to have a long talk with you about your work." Willow said. "Any time you want we can get together. We'll be here for two weeks." 

Manuel finally asked Joaquin when the Rosary and Funeral will take place and where there mother was going to be buried. "The Rosary and viewing will take place on Monday evening at 6 in the evening, the funeral mass will take place the next day at 6 in the evening at Forest Lawn Cemetery in the San Gabriel Valley." "Why is the mass and burial so late?" Maria asked. 

"We have two people here that are unable to go into the sunlight because of a skin condition. Dr. McConnell and Dr. Summers are allergic to the sun and would become very ill if they were out in the sun for more than a few minutes." Joaquin, Spike, Sean, Connor and Wesley had all talked about the problem of explaining to Joaquin's family why they were having the funeral so late in the day and had decided to use the same excuse that they gave at the hospital. "I guess that's just as good a reason as any." Maria said. 

"Well I better get up stairs to take over from Mike so I'll say goodnight to everyone." Kathleen said as she took her place setting into the kitchen. Everyone said goodnight to Kathleen as she left to go upstairs. Joyce stood up and picked up her place setting. "I'm going up to be with Kathleen tonight Mama. We haven't been able to have some time together yet." "Okay, goodnight then." Buffy answered. 

Joyce went upstairs to the top of the Hotel and joined Kathleen. "So what's the news on Sean?" Kathleen and Joyce spent the next 4 hours talking about Sean and Kathleen's schooling and what she was working towards. "I'm so glad you're here now Joyce, you can be my Maid of Honor when Sean and I get married next year." "Why are you going to wait so long to get married?" "I can't give Sean the attention he needs right now Joyce. I am so busy with school that I barely have the time to eat and sleep at night. I don't share in any of the guarding of our home during the weekday and I don't go out on any of the missions that result from my visions. All of my mind and time is concentrated on my schooling. I've already finished two years worth of schooling and I do intend to finish at the end of this school year. By next summer I want to be to be working my internship at the hospital. The only reason that you've seen Sean and I going into the same bedroom this past week is because I've had two weeks off of school and we've been able to share ourselves with each other. Next week though I start school again and Sean will be sleeping in his own bedroom. During the weekend we might have time for each other but we might not because the hospital takes a lot of his time also. When he's done with his refresher course then he can take it easy but until then he is almost as busy as I am."

"Well I guess that's just as good an excuse as any." Joyce said. The girls started laughing then. When Wesley came up to the top of the building he found the girls talking away a mile a minute and he wondered if any intruders were scared away by all of the noise or the fact that they would have had to confront Kathleen and the future Slayer. "I see you girls have been busy guarding our home." Joyce and Kathleen jumped up from where they were sitting and went running over to Wesley and guided him over to a chair that they had for him. "Here you go Uncle Wesley. Mike and Nicky brought up this chair and table for all of us to use. Now you don't have to worry about any intruders tonight because Daddy said that he'll be with you tonight and he'll wake you if you fall to sleep." "Is he here now?" Wesley asked. "No he said he'll be here later. So if you fall to sleep and you hear your name being called out real loud it will probably be Daddy." "Okay, I wish I could hear him because I would like to talk to him about a few things." "Well you know Daddy; he's always pulling a rabbit out of his hat. Good night Uncle Wesley." The girls said as they left the roof and went to their beds.

The next morning was Sunday and everyone went to church. Kathleen had called the church ahead of time and asked that three of the front pews be roped off for everyone from the Hyperion. After Mass everyone went out to lunch at a local Smorgasbord that could accommodate all of them. Wesley knew this place to have a covered entrance and a large windowless banquet room where Spike and Sean could be comfortable and not have to worry about the light coming in through the window. 

"Sometime next week Connor do you think we could go to Disneyland?" Manuel asked. "Yes of course and everyone but Kathleen, who starts school tomorrow, can go also if they want. That is unless you can wait until next Friday evening so Sean and Kathleen can go also." "I think we can manage to keep the kids from getting too excited, and when I say kids I mean the big kids also." Sarah said as she looked at her husband. Manuel had a big grin on his face. "He has wanted to go ever since the ranch started paying off better." Sarah said. Wesley was laughing at him also. "That's okay Manuel you should have seen Connors father and Spike here when they went for the first time. We practically had to drag them away and if it wasn't for the fact that they were closing they probably would have still been there the next day. Worst of all he wanted to buy the biggest Winnie the Pooh teddy bear that you ever saw for Kathleen. She was just a baby at the time and his wife, Cordelia, had to put her foot down and tell him that if he bought it someone would have to stay behind. Reluctantly he put it back. Disneyland seems to bring out the inner child in all adults as well." Everyone was laughing at Spike who was blushing. Hunter noticed this and made a note of it to ask him about it later when they returned to the hotel. 

Wesley stood up and said "I think it's time to go now before they throw us out." Everyone else got up also and filed out. They were such a big crowd that it took a while for them to file out and into their various vehicles. They spent the rest of the day resting in their own rooms the rest of the day. No one felt like doing anything after having such a big meal. Later in the evening Connie set out fixings to make sandwiches. Anyone that wanted to could come down and make what they wanted and sit at the table or take it to there room. Most of the adults stayed downstairs. All of the teenagers in the hotel were busy playing the X Box in Nicky's room while Sean and Kathleen were sequestered in Kathleen's room. Since school started for Kathleen the next day they knew that they wouldn't have much time for each other until next weekend so they were making good use of what time they had tonight. 

"I noticed that your sister and Dr. McConnell are quiet close. It really isn't any of my business and you can tell me so if you want but isn't he a little old for her. She's only 18 isn't she?" Sarah asked Connor. Connor was about to say something then he noticed Sean standing by the stairs. Sean came over to the table. "I'll answer for you Connor if you don't mind." Sean said as he pulled out a chair to sit down. "Kathleen and I are supposed to be together. We had what you would call the thunderbolt hit both of us when we saw each other for the first time. Kathleen is what is known as my Beloved." Wesley held up his hand at that point. He was about to say something when Manuel spoke up. "Could you wait a minute Wesley?" Manuel looked at Jason, Rose, Juanita and her husband Joe and asked them to leave them alone for awhile. "Okay Papa, why don't we go to the Dairy Queen down the road?" Juanita said as she looked at the rest. They all agreed and called up to Nicky's room and asked the boys if they wanted to go. Of course they all yelled a yes that you could hear all of the way downstairs. In the next minute you could hear a small heard of elephants running down the stairs. Kathleen came down looking for Sean also. She joined everyone else at the table when she saw him at the table also. 

"Now that we have some privacy I can tell you that Sarah, Maria and Alex all know about you people. We know that Dr. McConnell, Dr. Summers and Dr. Hunter are all Vampires. Mama told us a long time ago. She said that she thought it was our right to know where they were living and with what kind of people they were living with. We also know that Dr. McConnell had been Mama's physician ever since he moved in. And Wesley, Connor and Dr. McConnell we all want to thank you for taking care of our Mother so well. When I asked her to come and live with me when Joaquin told me about how she was having a harder time doing anything she said that she felt needed here and that she still had work that she could do. She also told us how all of your children called her Grandma Lucinda and that made her very happy." When he saw how angry Wesley looked he thought he had better also add something irrefutable. "I feel I should also say that your father, Angel and his friend Lorne, told us about himself, Spike and Hunter. He said it only after Lorne had us sing for him. Angel felt that he could trust us and now we are asking that you trust us also. None of our children know about this and it has never been discussed with anyone else. My wife asked the question about Sean and Kathleen because it is so plain to see that there is a big difference in there ages. If she has questions about it aren't you afraid that others will also?" 

"I'll give you the answer that Kathleen gave me when I asked her the same thing. She said, and I am quoting her verbatim "It's no ones business but ours."" "Doesn't that sound an awful lot like Cordelia?" Wesley asked. "Yes and I swear that I could hear Cordelia saying 'Don't worry about them they'll be fine.'" Connor said. This time it was Fred that stood up and broke up the conversations. "I am going to say goodnight because tomorrow will be a big day and I seem to need more sleep now. Goodnight everyone. Goodnight you two." Fred said as she passed Sean and Kathleen. "Kathleen you had better get to bed. Isn't your first class at 8 tomorrow morning?" "Yes mother I'll go to sleep as soon as Sean and I say goodnight." Kathleen said with a big grin that reminded her of Cordelia. "Don't forget that we have a lot of guests in the house so no S & B." Fred said. She went up stairs and called to Wesley. "Coming mother." He looked at the rest. "What can I do?" Wesley shrugged his shoulders and went running to the stairs.

Sean and Kathleen got up next and left. They could hear Sean asking Kathleen what Fred meant by no S & B. "What did Fred mean by no S & B?" Sarah asked Lou. "Spike and Buffy have a favorite position for having sex. That position has come to be known as S & B around here. Poor Connor had a hard time getting any sleep when he was going to school because Spike and Buffy's room was right next door to his and that favorite position required them to be against the wall if you know what I mean." Sarah looked at her husband and raised her eyebrows a couple of times. Everyone else got up then and put their dishes in the kitchen and helped Connie to put away what food was left. When they were done Connor turned off the lights and checked the doors then went upstairs. Angus was already in bed by the time Lou and he arrived. Lou only had four weeks left before her due date so she was moving rather slowly and tired easily. As they sat at the couch watching the evening news Lou leaned against Connor as he had his arm wrapped around her. They hadn't wanted to know what the sex of the baby was so they just referred to it as the baby. "Is the baby making you uncomfortable?" "Yes the little rug rat feels like it's playing Soccer in there. I talked to Sean about it and he thinks that we should find out if it's a girl or boy sometime within the next two to three weeks. Most likely two weeks because he said it sounds like the baby is starting to turn to get in the birth position. I'm going to bed now are you coming?" "In a few minutes." Lou pulled her robe off and put it at the end of the bed then slid into bed. After a few minutes Lou saw the lights and television go off and felt Connor slide into bed next to her. Just as they were starting to fall asleep they heard this rhythmic pounding on the wall. "I guess my explanation of S & B got people curious." Lou said. They both laughed about it then just waited for the noise to die down so they could go to sleep. 

The next morning Kathleen was out the door before anyone but Connie was up. Before she ran out the door Connie gave her a breakfast burrito and a traveling mug with coffee in it. "Thank you Connie." Kathleen said as she ran out the door. She had put all of the books she would need for the day in her car the night before so all she had to carry was her purse, breakfast and her laptop. Connie just watched her pulling out of the back parking lot. "That girl makes me tired just watching her." 

At 6 that evening everyone was at the funeral home for the Rosary and Viewing. Fr. Maxwell was there to lead the prayers. It was a very traumatic time for Joaquin's sister and brother since they hadn't seen their mother since the previous Christmas. When Wesley saw how hard Maria was taking it he reached over to Kathleen and tapped her on the shoulder. When she looked at him he said "Kathleen why don't you get up and say something about Lucinda?" Kathleen nodded her okay and stood up and went to stand in front of the coffin after everyone had walked by to give their goodbyes. Wesley knew that Kathleen had a gift for always saying the right thing. Tonight was no exception. She told the Sanchez family how Dr. Martin had told her that Grandma Lucinda was with them and how happy she was. She wanted her children to know that she didn't want them to grieve but to be happy for her. Heaven is beautiful and she was with their father. 

When they all went home the Sanchez family felt better. They found Kathleen's words very comforting and they all thanked her. It had been an emotionally draining evening and everyone went right to bed. The next day went a lot better since they knew that it was only their mother's empty body that they buried. They knew that her soul was in heaven and that she was very happy. 

Four days later everyone but Connor and Lou went to Disneyland. Spike had been able to go along also and was showing Sean all of the fun rides which of course included the Mad Hatter Teacup ride. Kathleen talked Sean into trying the rollercoaster rides. Poor Sean ran to the nearest trash can and stuck his head in it and threw up all of the food he had eaten that evening. Fortunately his body had already digested the blood he had drunk before they left the hotel. When he stood up again he saw everyone looking at him and smiling. Spike was standing by him with some ice in a paper towel for the back of his head. "That's okay Sean, I did the same thing the first time I went on it. Fortunately they were laughing more at seeing Angel get sick then they did me." Spike said as he held the towel of ice against Sean's neck. They sat down for awhile so Sean's stomach could settle down again. All of the boys had elected to go on the ride again but Sean couldn't make himself watch them because his stomach would give up more of its contents every time he tried. He was eager to leave the area once the boys got off of the ride again. By midnight they were all tired and ready to go home. 

When they finally arrived home all of the boys had to be awakened so they could go inside. Kathleen had placed a spell on the building so she had to remove it before they could go inside. Juanita went up to Connors and Lou's bedroom so she could retrieve her baby who Lou had volunteered to take care of for the evening. Maria was only 3 months old and too young to be out so late. Within the next 20 minutes the hotel was quiet again. Everyone was worn out and went right to sleep. 

The only one that was awake was Lou and her baby. She had already experienced one contraction and she knew it was way too soon to tell anyone about the imminent birth. She went back to sleep and rested while she could. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

At 8:30 the following morning Lou shook her husband's shoulder. "Connor……….Connor, wake up." He turned over and away from Lou. "It's too early, lets sleep some more." In the next few seconds she heard him snoring so she tried again. "Connor wake up it's time." "Time for what, everyone else is still sleeping." He turned back towards her and said "Go back to sleep baby." "Our baby has decided to come out today so get up before I get up and throw some ice water on you." She said a little louder this time.

Connor threw the covers off and jumped up and went to the other side of the bed. "How far apart are the contractions, did your water break yet, do you want to take a shower before we go downstairs, are you hungry or do you just want something to drink, do you want me to get Sean or do you want to go downstairs now?" Connor finally went to her side again sat down next to her and gave her a kiss. "Take a deep breath Daddy before you pass out." Connor took a deep breath like she said. "Now, my water just broke. It's a good thing I put some plastic under the sheets in case this happened. The contractions are still about 30 minutes apart so I think I have time for you to help me take a shower." Connor helped Lou to go to the bathroom and helped her take her nightgown off and get into the shower. While they were waiting for the water to get hot she had another contraction. She leaned against the wall of the shower until it passed then Connor quickly helped her to bathe. Within 15 minutes they were out and Connor helped her dry off and put her bathrobe on. He quickly blow dried her hair for her and put it into a pony tail. Twenty minutes after the last contraction another one hit Lou and she went down to her knees and held onto Connors hand while he rubbed her back and helped her to breath. When it was over he helped her to the bed so he could call Sean.

"Hello." Sean answered sleepily. "Sean this is Connor. Lou's contractions are about 20 minutes apart now and I am going to take her to the clinic as soon as I get off of the phone." Without waiting for a reply he hung up and helped Lou to go to the clinic. When they arrived Lou didn't want to get on the bed yet. "Let me stand for awhile Connor, maybe it will help the baby on its outward journey. It's odd when you think about it but it's only a matter of a few inches but it's the hardest few inches that we ever travel." Lou said as she leaned against the bed.

Sean called Hunter who was the only other one in the Hotel that could help him. He had looked at his watch and realized that Spike had probably already left for the hospital. The next person he called was Fred then he tried Kathleen's room. "This is Kathleen." "Do you want to assist in your first delivery today?" Sean asked her. "YES! I'll be right down." He wasn't positive but he was pretty sure that she was excited about seeing her first delivery. Sean took a shower and quickly dressed so that he could bring the next new Martin into the world.

As Sean entered the clinic he saw Lou going through another contraction while Connor held onto her and helped her through the pain. When it was over he came in and said "Put her on the bed Connor and her feet in the stirrups." Both Fred and Hunter had entered the clinic at the same time. They grabbed some sheets to cover the examination bed and helped to get Lou ready for Sean to check her cervix. Hunter placed tabs on Lou's stomach so they could monitor the baby's heartbeat as soon as they had her on the bed.

Kathleen came running into the clinic. "Does anyone need my help?" "You can help me with the table over here Kathleen. This is where we will receive the baby and clean it up and measure and weigh it." Fred said as she pulled out clean towels and a sheet to place on the table. While Kathleen was getting the table ready Fred pulled out a blank birth certificate to record the newest addition to the Martin family.

Sean in the mean time was examining Lou. "Well your ready Lou. In fact I could feel the baby's head starting to come through." He pulled his hand out just in time for another contraction to hit. This one hit so hard that Lou let out a loud scream. Sean and Hunter watched the monitor and the baby. It was having a good strong heartbeat so Hunter turned the sound up on it so Lou could hear her baby's heartbeat. When she was able to Lou concentrated on listening. Hunter wiped her face down with a damp wash cloth. "Can I have some ice Connor? My lips are so dry." Fred brought over a cup of ice and gave it to Connor. He placed a few chunks of ice in Lou's mouth where she ran it around in her mouth and sucked on them until they were gone. "Is that better?" "Yes thank you. Lou started breathing more rapidly as another contraction hit her. "Sean I can feel the baby coming. I feel like I have to push." "Kathleen, come over here and watch your little niece or nephew come into the world." Sean said as he positioned himself to receive the new baby as it came into the world.

"Okay Lou I want you to push when you feel the next contraction starting." Sean told her. Lou started breathing rapidly as she felt the next contraction starting. Connor helped her to sit up while Hunter counted for the length of time she wanted her to push. "I can see the head crowning Connor. With the next contraction Lou I want you to continue to push until I tell you to stop." Within the next minute she started another. Connor helped her to sit up. Lou pushed as hard as she could and could feel the baby's head starting to come out. "Connor, get over here and watch your baby come out into the world." When Lou relaxed again Connor went to the other end so that he could see his baby being born. "Okay Lou, one more push and will have the baby's head out." Hunter helped Lou to sit up while she gave her last bit of strength to push her baby out. As Sean cleared the baby's shoulder and one arm it slid out into the world and gave a loud cry. Sean cleared her nose and mouth of all of the fluid in them then stood up and put the baby on Lou's stomach. "You have a new baby girl Lou and Connor. Here's the scissors to cut the umbilical cord." Connor took the scissors and cut the final physical ties to her mother. Kathleen and Fred took the baby over to the table then to clean her up and take down all of the statistics.

Everyone else had come down stairs and was waiting out in the Lobby while the newest member of the AI team was born. They all heard her first cry and cheered. After cleaning her up and taking all of her measurements Fred turned to ask her name so she could write it down on the birth certificate. "What are you going to name her Lou and Connor?" "We decided to name her after Lou's mother so her name will be

**Amelie Gabrielle Martin**

Fred typed the name in along with all of the other information that was needed and placed the birth certificate form in the printer and pressed the print button. Kathleen gave her new niece a kiss then took her over to her parents. "Here you are Lou." Lou took her new daughter in her arms and kissed her. She looked up at Connor who had tears in his eyes. "Amelie Gabrielle Martin I would like to introduce you to your Daddy, Connor this is your daughter Amelie Gabrielle Martin." Connor carefully took her from his wife. "Hello Gabrielle I'm your Daddy." He gave her a gentle kiss then walked over to the Lobby and said "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my daughter Amelie Gabrielle Martin." Everyone crowded around him to see the new baby. "She's beautiful Connor. You and Lou did a good job." Wesley said.

After everyone had a good look at his new daughter he took her back into her mother. Lou had fallen asleep after Sean finished cleaning her up so Connor turned his daughter over to Fred. "You can take her upstairs now Connor. She'll probably sleep now until this afternoon or tonight. Your daughter most likely won't be hungry until tonight or tomorrow morning." Connor picked up his wife and took her upstairs to her own bedroom. Fred followed them upstairs and placed her in her bassinet.

"Would you like for her Aunt Willow and Tara to take care of her until tonight?" Fred asked. "Yes I think that would be a good idea. We can get our last goodnights sleep." Connor answered with a smile. Fred pulled out the bassinet along with a supply of diapers and headed downstairs with Gabrielle. When she arrived she found everyone pitching in to make breakfast. Connor wasn't sleepy so he came downstairs as soon as he made Lou comfortable. He went into his office and called Lou's brother Tom in England. "Tom, this is your brother in-law Connor." "Connor, hello how is everyone over there?" "I called you to let you know that you're the uncle of a brand new baby girl. Lou gave birth just a couple of hours ago. We named her after your mother, Amelie Gabrielle Martin." "Thanks Connor, I am sure Mom would be happy. I have to go now Connor but tell Lou that I love her and I'll see if Giles and I can come home for awhile. Tell Wesley that I will be calling him later today and let him know if we'll be able to make it or not. Goodbye and give my new niece a kiss for me." Connor hung up and went to the dining room to get some breakfast. When he sat down with his food he gave thanks for his new daughter and that both his wife and daughter came through the whole thing okay.

"Wesley, I called Tom to let him know about his new niece and he said he would call you later today to let you know if they could come to the states for awhile." Wesley nodded okay and they all concentrated on their breakfast then.

"Well now that the excitement of the new addition is over and you've gone to Disneyland what else would the Sanchez family like to do?" Wesley asked. "Well we had a vote and we've decided to go to Sea World but we are going to rest a little, us old folks need more rest then the young ones so we thought we would go next week Wednesday. From there my group will be going home and Maria's group will be coming back here then home on Friday." Manuel said. "What about today?" Connor asked. "All of the boys want to go to the movies and they said they would take Jerry with them." Maria said.

"Okay then do you guys know where you want to go Nicky." Connor asked Nicky because he had already established himself as the leader of the gang. 'I hope I don't have half the trouble with Nicky that Dad had with me.' Connor said to himself.

"We talked about it again and decided to go over to Uncle Gunn's warehouse. Jerry will have plenty of kids his age to play with over there. Is that okay with you Uncle Gunn?" "I don't mind if it's okay with everyone's parents or Connor." Gunn answered.

Everyone gave their okay once it was explained what the warehouse was like. When the boys left with Gunn and everyone went back to their rooms to get some more rest Connor went back to his wife and laid down beside her. Lou was sound asleep when he laid down so he just removed his shoes, pants and shirt and crawled under the covers and pulled Lou into his arms.

While the boys were at Gunn's warehouse they had unexpected visitors. The leader of the local gang came in with 10 of his gang members. When Phoenix saw them enter the warehouse he set up an alarm that warned everyone that there were intruders in the warehouse. All of the small children knew to go to a protected area. Jerry, Maria's grandson, was pushed into this protected area along with the rest by Mike. As soon as Mike saw that he was okay he went to stand by Nicky's side as all of the older kids stood to confront the intruders.

Phoenix, who was the second in command of Gunn's kids, as they had come to be known, was glad to have the AI team here.

"What do you want here Miguel?" Phoenix asked the leader of the gang. "We're looking for Gunn. We want to talk to him." Miguel played with a switch blade he pulled out of his baggy pants that hung around his hips. Miguel wanted to look like the rest but he was smart enough to know that his pants hanging so low was a danger to him so he wore long suspenders so that they couldn't fall off and trip him in a fight. He didn't realize it but he looked more like a clown than anything else.

"You can talk to me about any business that you have with Gunn." Phoenix said.

"Our gang needs new members and you guys are taking away our future members. I am here to let you know that this will not be allowed anymore. We know about the hotel where he lives. If he doesn't back off and leave my territory alone then we will be paying him a visit and this place and the hotel won't be safe from us. Just to make sure that we mean business here is a special delivery." With that said Miguel threw his knife at Phoenix and aimed for his stomach. Nicky was faster though and caught the knife before it could hit Phoenix.

"You're asking for more trouble then you'll be able to handle Miguel if you try to make good on your threat." The knife had gone through Nicky's hand when he tried to catch it in midair. He didn't show any sign that this had happened he just stared at Miguel. The gang just looked in astonishment then slowly backed out of the warehouse. Phoenix signaled for 5 of the older boys to follow them and make sure that they left the area then he turned to Nicky.

Gunn came running into the warehouse as the gang members left and went directly to Phoenix. Phoenix told him what happened and the message that Miguel had left with him and how Nicky had saved him. Gunn checked Nicky's hand; the knife was still in it so he took out his clean handkerchief and wrapped it around his hand. He knew Nicky healed unusually fast as all of Angel's children did. Standing close to Nicky so that the other children couldn't see what was happening he pulled the knife out, Nicky moaned in pain but didn't scream or cry. Gunn wrapped his hand tightly with the handkerchief then said "Let's take you guys home so we can talk to Connor. I think this place is going to be too dangerous for you right now. I think Cylindia and I had better stay in the hotel for the next couple of weeks where we can draw their fire away from my kids and Mrs. Benton." Mike went to get Jerry and called the rest of the boys and told them they were going back home right now.

Gunn stopped at Mrs. Benton's and gathered up his son and wife then went to the hotel. As he walked into the hotel he called out for everyone. While he waited for everyone to come in he called Jack Cooper, Connors partner when he was in the L.A.P.D., who was now a detective and asked him to come over to the hotel. While Gunn was on the phone talking to Jack Sean was checking on Nicky's hand. As he took the makeshift bandage off of his hand he could see that the knife wound had already healed. "Move your hand like this Nicky." Nicky imitated Sean. As he flexed each finger he came to the middle finger and gave a low moan of pain. "It looks like you still need a little time to heal but let me take an x-ray of it just to make sure nothing broke or was sliced in half." It only took him a few minutes to take the x-ray. Fifteen minutes later he had the x-ray to view. "This is your hand Nicky and here is where the knife sliced into the muscle. It doesn't appear to be cut but more like sliced so that the muscle should grow back correctly with your healing abilities in just a few days. For now though I am going to bandage your hand so that you can't move it. Now your hand is going to be stiff when we take the bandage off so I am going to give you something to help you exercise it so that it will loosen up." "That sounds like a good plan." Nicky said. Mike had been standing by his brothers side all of the time that Sean was treating his brother. While he was bandaging Nicky's hand he noticed Mike was experiencing some pain in his own hand. "Are you feeling pain in your hand too Mike?" "Yeah, sometimes when either Nicky or I get hurt the other one feels the same thing. It's never as bad as the other one feels the pain it's kind of like a soft pain that hurts just enough so that you know that it's there." "That's common among twins. Your hand should start feeling better as Nicky's hand gets better. Now I want you back in here in three days and I'll remove the bandage and give you something to exercise your hand with. You are not to use that hand Nicky or it might not heal right. Do you understand?" "Yes I understand. If I play my cards right it should at least get me out of some chores for a few days. Kathleen's always an easy touch when we get hurt. Thanks." Nicky jumped down off of the examination bed and they both took off for the kitchen to get something to eat. Nicky's first victim was Connie. He poured on the 'poor me' act real thick and they got the best sandwich's they ever had. She even sliced it for them in quarters so that Nicky could handle it easier.

When Connor saw his hand for the first time he acted like it wasn't that big of a deal. When Kathleen came home from school though and heard the whole story she hugged her little brother and kissed him repeatedly until Nicky finally had to pull away from her grasp. When the boys had gone back upstairs Connor said "You know he's trying to milk this for all he can get." "I know but he's still our little brother and since Mama isn't here to mother him anymore I have to do it for her. Besides I think he was very brave to do what he did." Connor went to his little sister and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Connie we are going to have a little meeting with my friend Jack. He's coming over so we can talk to him to see if they can help us in taking care of Gunn's problem." "What happened that he has to come over?" Connor explained what happened at Gunn's warehouse. "Okay I'll make lunch for everyone and set it on the side board." "What I really need for you to do is make up a cart load of food for your family so they can go upstairs and have lunch in their rooms or else in your rooms. The rest of us will be having our lunch in the dining room so that we can have a meeting. Do you know where Joaquin is?" "Yes he took Manuel over to the stables so he could show them the horses. They should be back pretty soon though." "When he comes in tell him I need to speak with him." "Okay Connor." Connor went into his office then and did some work until either Joaquin or Jack came in.

Fifteen minutes later Joaquin came into his office and he told him what had happened over at Gunn's warehouse. He explained how it might be too dangerous for his family to remain at the hotel. "Yes I agree, I'll talk to Manuel and Maria and let them know that it would be best if they left today." "I feel terrible about this and I'm sorry that it has to be this way especially since I offered the Hyperion for them to stay at." "It's not your fault Connor and you have done more than enough for my family during this time. Best of all Connor is that you and all of your family made my mother's last year's very happy. I can't begin to tell you how happy everyone made her by calling her Grandma Lucinda and that she was able to help all of you in dealing with life. I know she didn't tell any of you about this but your Grandmother would often pay her a visit at night in her dreams and they would talk about problems that all of you were having. Your Grandmother would explain to my mother why you were having a problem and advise her on how to help you. The last person she helped was Kathleen when Sean didn't contact her all day on her birthday." Connor went to Joaquin and hugged him. When they parted they didn't say anything more and Joaquin just left to go and talk to his family.

Jack walked into the hotel a few minutes later and saw Connor at his desk as he walked to the hotel counter. He was dressed in a light blue sport jacket that had to be at least two sizes larger since Connor last worked with him. They shook hands in greeting and Connor invited him to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "I never thought I would be sitting across from you at your desk "Mr. Martin"." Jack said jokingly. "Where is your partner?" Jack asked. "Toby died a few months ago of old age." "I'm sorry to hear that he was a good partner and saved our hides more than once. What did you do with his body?" "I had him cremated and sent his ashes to be buried in our family cemetery in Ireland." "I'm glad you did that, he deserved the best." Both men wiped their tears away and blew their noses.

Everyone was coming in for lunch by now and Connor got up and went to the lobby. Joaquin pulled his family aside and explained to them that the AI team was going to be holding a meeting and they would have to have their lunch upstairs. As the Sanchez family went upstairs and the AI group sat down with their lunches Connor explained what had happened. "Gunn and I are hoping that Jack will be able to give us some help with this. I told him about what happened the last time that gang members had shown their dissatisfaction with Gunn's success at saving kids from gangs." "I told Connor that I will talk to the officers involved with monitoring all gang activity and see if we can get any information from our informants.

All of the planning was too late though. In the next minute they heard the alarm go off from upstairs. It had been Mikes turn to be on guard and he had seen the car pull up to the front and the four men with guns exit the car. Just as it happened before four gang members came in through the front door with guns ready. They saw people at the dining room table and immediately started shooting. Because of the alarm everyone was already getting under the table. Wesley pushed Fred down and protected her with his own body. Penny and Angus went after two of the men and were able to knock them down before they could aim their guns at them. When the two remaining gunmen had to stop to reload their weapons Kathleen disabled their guns and they appeared to jam when they attempted to fire them again. That's when the men went after the gunmen. Connor and Junior took down one while Nicky and Mike had another. Buffy and Joyce took care of the one that Penny had on the ground and Eddie and his brother Will took down the one that Angus had. Wesley went to the weapons cabinet and grabbed some plastic restraints that he gave to everyone that had a gang member that they were holding onto.

Connor looked around then to make sure that everyone was alright. He saw Jack on the floor with blood soaking his shirt and Sean attending to him already. Gunn was taking care of Cylindia who had apparently hit her head on the table when he pulled her down and under the table. Gunn himself had been hit in his left shoulder but seemed to be able to move alright. Kathleen was at the Lobby phone and calling 911. Connor thought to himself 'Thank you Dad for telling me to have the Sanchez family have lunch in Joaquin's room. It would have been a blood bath if they had been here.'

Connor went over to Jack as soon as he had the restraints on his gunman. "How is he doing?" Connor asked Sean. "He's bad Connor, real bad. If we can get him to the hospital fast enough he might have a chance." "Kathleen called 911 already and they should be here any minute.

Ten minutes later they heard people coming in thru the front doors. Connor and Wesley got up to meet them. Police officers had come in first but when they saw the gang members on the floor and restrained they called outside for the paramedics to come in. Sean stood up then and called for them to come to him. With the help of the paramedics Sean worked on Jack to stabilize him before they attempted to transport him. When they felt safe in transporting him they put him on the gurney and took him to the ambulance. Sean told them to take Gunn also since he had been shot as well. He then looked for Kathleen to make sure she was alright. He saw her standing beside Cylindia and putting a bandage to her head. "Are you alright?" Sean asked her. "Yes and Cylindia has just a small cut on her forehead."

Connor was talking to the police officer when he saw the Sanchez family come downstairs. Joaquin and Connie looked for their son right away and found him over by one of the shooters and holding onto him. As soon as one of the officers took him off of his hands he went to his parents and hugged them. He quickly told them what had happened. Connie and Joaquin then told the rest of their family.

As everyone was talking they heard someone scream and everyone immediately looked around to see who had screamed. What they saw was Kathleen over by the back doors. She was kneeling on the floor. When Sean and Connor went to her they could see what she was looking at. Vicky lay dead in front of Kathleen. Apparently she had just come in from outside when the shooting started. Her age made her too slow to move fast enough to go to Kathleen or attack any of the shooters and one of them had apparently shot her in the side and right through her heart. Kathleen cradled her companion in her arms.

Connor and Sean kneeled down by her. Kathleen just looked at Connor with tears in her eyes. "Now Vicky and Toby can be together just like Momma and Daddy." Sean held onto Kathleen and let her cry on his shoulder. When she was done and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand she got up and went upstairs to get a sheet to cover Vicky with. Before she covered her she brushed her hair with her own brush then kissed her head and covered her.

After the gang members were taken out the Detective in charge went to Connor, who he remembered from when he worked on the police force. "Well we found out what gang they are with. These boys are just soldiers and the leader is a guy named Hombre. Of course that's not his real name but that's what he goes by. They're a new gang in the city and they are having a hard time recruiting new members. They see Gunn's kids as a warehouse full of potential gang members." Detective Wendell said. "Where are their headquarters?" Connor asked. Wendell was hesitant to say anything. "We don't know exactly where their headquarters are but we do know that it's down close to Hollywood."

Kathleen joined Connor and Wesley as they talked to the Detective. "Could we talk to one of the gang members for a minute?" Wendell turned and signaled to one of the police officers that were holding onto the first shooter to come in. "Do you mind if I take him into my office for a few minutes?" "After what he put all of you through I don't believe that would be a problem." Connor grabbed the teenager by the arm and pulled him into his office. Kathleen and Wesley followed him. Wesley closed the door after he entered.

"What's your name?" Connor asked as he sat the teenager down and took a seat behind his desk. "Vince." Kathleen was sitting over in a chair next to Wesley but then got up and sat next to Vince. She didn't say anything she just stared at him. Vince didn't like it and he started to perspire.

"What makes you think that you could stop Gunn from doing what he does just by shooting up his home and trying to kill all of his friends?" "We need new members because we are just starting up our gang here. Gunn takes away all of our new recruits by offering them a home and protection. We wanted to show them that they couldn't hide from us anyplace or anywhere. They either join us or they lose their happy home." "Who is your leader?" Vince started to say the name and then decided to just shut up. "Where's your headquarters?" Vince kept his mouth shut. Connor looked at Kathleen. She gave him an okay nod.

"Aren't you worried about what God will do to you when you go before him for your last judgment?" "There is no God." "Who told you that?" "That's what Juan told us." "Who is Juan that he would know such things?" "Juan knows everything because he talks to the leaders in San Diego." "Who are the leaders?" Vince suddenly realized what was happening and his eyes grew wide as he looked at Kathleen. "You're getting into my mind somehow. Leave me alone." "Not until I give you a parting gift Vince. I am going to show you what you are going to have in the next life if you don't mend your ways and ask for Christ's forgiveness." Kathleen closed her eyes and after only a minute Vince screamed and started to cry. "That's not true, that's not true, you're lying." "Do you want to risk your place in eternity Vince? It's time to make a choice in your life as to whether you want to follow Christ or Satan. If you follow Satan what I showed you will be your fate throughout eternity. Follow Christ and your stay will be short or perhaps not at all depending on the path you choose to follow." Kathleen grabbed some Kleenex from the box on Connors desk and wiped Vince's face for him. Kathleen stood up to leave but before she did she turned to Vince and said "No one will know what happened here in this office unless you choose to tell them. Pray Vince that the Detective that you shot lives." Wesley followed Kathleen out of the door and Connor pulled Vince up from the couch and pushed him out of the office. The officer that previously had control of him took over again and took him out to the waiting car.

"Did he tell you anything useful?" Detective Wendell asked Connor as he came out into the lobby. "All we know is that his name is Vince. The leader of the gang is Juan and they are just an offshoot of the main gang in San Diego." "Okay that's more information than we had before. I believe the CSI team is done so we'll be leaving now. We'll keep in touch with you. I think you know how fast we will try to get this taken cared of, especially if Jack should die from his wounds." Connor and Wesley shook hands with the Detective before he left. Kathleen followed him out and looked at the van that the gang members were being held in. She showed each of them the same vision that she had shown Vince as the van left.

As Kathleen entered the hotel she saw Sean checking on Cylindia in the clinic. Since he was busy she went to help clean up the mess that was left.

The next day the Sanchez family came down for breakfast along with all of their luggage. After everyone was sitting down and started their breakfast Connor said "I'm sure sorry that you all have to leave so soon but I believe it's for the best." "That's okay Connor it isn't anyone's fault. We have lived with this kind of violence all our lives in Mexico. It's one of the reasons why my sister wanted to leave. We will call you Joaquin when we get home to let you know that we arrived okay. I don't suppose that you would want to go with us for a visit Joaquin and Connie?" Manuel asked. "No we can't. I don't want to leave Fred with the burden of having to cook by herself since Lou just had her baby." Connie said. "If it's okay with everyone else Connie I would say go ahead and visit for a couple of weeks because we have four other women in the hotel now." Fred said.

"Do you want to go?" Joaquin asked his wife. "Is it okay with you Connor?" Connie asked. "Yes, yes go ahead. We'll miss your cooking but I suppose we will survive somehow. After all we can always go out to eat." Buffy, Tara, Willow and Fred all wadded up their napkins and threw them at Connor. "Okay then if you'll just wait for me to pack well be going with you for a visit Manuel." Connie said as she finished her breakfast and went up stairs to pack. The women got up then and started picking up the plates and cleaning the kitchen while Connie was packing. In 45 minutes she was calling downstairs for Junior and Joaquin to come upstairs.

After telling Junior to be careful and making Joaquin change for the trip they were downstairs with their luggage. Everyone was out the door in the next few minutes. Connie made Fred promise to call her if they needed her to come back early or if, God forbid, anything happened to Junior. "Don't worry Connie just go and have a restful vacation and bring back lots of good red chili." They gave each other a kiss then they were out the door. Fred went upstairs to let Lou know that Connie and Joaquin went to Mexico for a vacation. Connor followed her upstairs.

Fred knocked on the door. "Come in Fred." Both Fred and Connor went in. They found Lou leaning up against the headboard and nursing her daughter. "What's up?" Lou asked. Fred told her about Connie and Joaquin going to Mexico for a vacation. "That's good she needed a vacation. It will help them to get over Lucinda's death. So where are we going to go for dinner tonight?" "Hey I'm not that bad of a cook you know. Before Connie came it was just Cordelia and I doing the cooking." Lou was laughing. "I was just kidding Fred."

The next day Kathleen had classes so Connor took Vicky's body to be cremated. Spike had been working a 36 hour shift at the hospital so he didn't see what happened until the following morning. As Kathleen was leaving Spike was coming in and they just waved to each other. The sun was just coming up so Spike had parked in the area that they used to unload things right into the basement. As he entered the dining room he could smell all of the strangers that had been in the hotel. He went running up to his bedroom and called out to Buffy. He found her still in bed and sitting up looking at him. "What's wrong?" Buffy asked as she rubbed at her eyes. Spike went to the bed. "What happened downstairs? It smells like you guys were having a party down in the lobby except I can smell gun powder." Buffy explained what had happened and told him about Gunn and Jack getting hurt and about Vicky being shot. When she was done explaining what had happened Spike just hugged her tightly.

"Buffy Dr. Franklin told me yesterday that they are going to let me take tests that will move me into the Residents program if I pass. He said that all of the residents think I know more than enough to move on and they don't believe I should have to finish the full 2 year program. It looks like all of that time I worked with Mike and Dr. Martin gave me the extra boost that I needed to put me way ahead of the rest. If I pass Buffy I'll have two weeks off before I return as a Resident. I want just you and me to go to Hawaii and stay at the estate there. Joyce and the boys are more than capable now in fighting." "When is the test?" Buffy asked. "Next week Monday." "Okay, I know you'll pass so I'll go ahead and tell Wesley that we want to go for a vacation in Hawaii but that we want to be alone so they can give the help time off."

Spike gave Buffy a long kiss. She pulled away from him though and wrinkled her nose. "Go take a shower first you smell like a hospital." Spike jumped up and ran to the shower. He was back in just 15 minutes. He could smell the glass of warm blood that Buffy had made for him. Spike stood at the side of the bed and drank the blood. All of the time he was staring at Buffy as she pulled off her nightgown then went into the bathroom. In fifteen minutes she was done with her own shower. "Why didn't you take a shower with me?" Spike asked as he pulled the towel off of her hair. "I didn't want any delays on getting to this point and if we had taken a shower together we would have started too soon.

Spike pulled the towel she had wrapped around her off and she pulled the towel he had wrapped around his waist off. Within minutes the historic S & B was in full progress and Wesley and Fred's wall was shaking. Connor and Lou were already up and on their way downstairs with their daughter. Willow and Tara had taken the old bassinet out and cleaned it and stocked it so Lou would have something to put Gabrielle in. All of the boys were already in the front and waiting for the school bus to pick them up so fortunately they didn't hear what was going on upstairs.

"Sounds like the old days." Wesley said.

Gunn and Cylindia came downstairs next and had the same comment. "When did you get home?" Wesley asked Gunn. "They released me late last night. After they took the bullet out of my shoulder they gave me this sling for my arm and said I could go home and to just keep it on for the next week until the muscles healed." "By any chance did you check on how Jack is doing?" Connor asked. "They wouldn't give me any information since I wasn't family." "Maybe Sean can call and get information." Connor said.

Sean came out of the clinic just then and went into the kitchen to make some of his blood. It was then that he realized that he didn't know how to make it since Kathleen or Connie always made it. "Hunter, do you know how to make the blood we drink? I've never made it before." Hunter got up and went into the kitchen and showed him how to warm up the blood. He watched her as she put the seasonings in the cup then added blood and put it into the microwave. "You can't let it warm up to fast or else the blood will start to cook. "Do you know how to use a microwave?" "Enough to warm up food and that's all." "Well then this is how we make it; I believe Kathleen usually puts cinnamon in your breakfast drink and red chili powder at night. Put it in the microwave for 10 seconds then stir it, put it back in for 15 seconds then stir it again. Taste it to see if it's warm enough yet and if it isn't then put it in for 15 seconds again until it's at the temperature that you like." Hunter put it in 2 more times at 15 seconds each then gave it to Sean to taste. "Perfect, thank you, now I can get my own." "You might have to do it yourself when Kathleen is pregnant with her first baby. When Cordelia was pregnant with Kathleen she developed a craving for the blood that Angel drank. Kathleen started to pick up on the craving and started to suck on the wall of her little prison and forced a nipple like extrusion to develop where she could feed on her mother's blood. Poor Cordelia would become very anemic and Dr. Martin and Spike had to give her a transfusion. Since I had dealt with Vampires for so long they asked me if I knew what was wrong. We took her down to Mike's office then and held a little theatrical play that would make Cordelia start craving the blood Angel was drinking. When I saw her staring at him drinking his blood we took her into the examination room and took a look to see what Angel's princes was doing to her mother. Just as I thought she was taking a drink at the bar. From then on and until Cordelia delivered Angel had to make his own blood and drink it out of Cordelia's sight or else she would start craving it again."

"We have to get together later on when I have time so you can tell me all about the special relationship that Angel had with Cordelia." "What do you mean?" Hunter asked as they walked back to the dining room table. "Kathleen tells me that I need to talk to you about the link that her mother and father had and how it was a problem during Cordelia's pregnancy and birth." When Sean said that, he heard Wesley and Connor snickering at the other end of the table. "Ignore them Sean because they were part of the problem. Poor Angel was picking up on all of the problems that women have when they are pregnant because of the link they shared. He would get morning sickness right along with Cordelia. What made it worse though was that he would get it a few minutes after she would and it was always harder on him and leave him with a headache afterwards. Fortunately Willow was able to contact a midwife that knew a lot about herbs so she gave her some tea that she had to drink after eating. It worked pretty good too. If she forgot to drink it both Cordelia and Angel would pay for it."

"That isn't that bad because some human men get sympathy symptoms. Like Connor here that would crave almost everything that Lou craved." Sean said as he looked at Connor. "I wouldn't crave everything she craved like that concoction of peanut butter and fried sardines." He shuddered at the mere thought of it. "When she fried those sardines I had to open up the windows and turn a fan on at the end of the room so that the odor would go out the window instead of staying in the room and making the paint peel. I swear that no fly ever came into the room during or for a week after." "That's not true besides it tasted good at the time. Now the very thought of it almost makes me gag." Lou said as they all laughed.

"The best part was when Angel had to pee all of the time whenever Cordelia had to and you know how bad it gets during a woman's third trimester. He rarely had to deal with relieving himself so he wasn't used to it or what the feeling was when his body was telling him that it had to empty itself. The problem though started to present itself more frequently when we were in Ireland. Connor and I were laughing so hard we could hardly catch our breath. When we went to visit his birthplace Cordelia had to pee real bad which meant that Angel did also. He parked at the front of the house while he grabbed Cordelia's hand and they ran to the back of the house to pee." Wesley said.

"Why did you think it was so funny?" "It wasn't the fact that he had to pee so often it was the joke we had made about him when we first found out that Cordelia might be pregnant. Connor and I said 'I can just imagine it, one day we'll be fighting a group of demons and vampires and Angel will take his demon and put it up on a hook and say 'I'll be right back I have to pee.'" Connor and Wesley started cracking up again.

"I don't understand, why you guys were laughing so much over something that was so basic?" Sean asked. "You had to know Angel before Dr. Martin came Sean. He was always so proper. He had a lot of respect for women and treated them like queens and would have never discussed such things as bodily functions in front of them. At the time it was easy for him to be proper because he never had to deal with bodily functions until he started to become more human." Wesley said. "The first time Dad had to have a bowel movement was when we were in New Hampshire visiting Sr. Margaret just before she died. Grandma was watching him eat regular food and asked Cordelia if Dad was having regular bowel movements and when she said no Grandma gave her some suppositories. The next morning Cordelia gave Dad the suppositories and man did it stink. When I had to pass by his room I almost couldn't breathe. I made a big show of going outside and gasping for air." By now everyone was laughing.

"That wasn't the worse part of Cordelia's pregnancy though Sean. The worse part came when Cordelia went into labor. Because of the link they shared Angel would experience each contraction along with Cordelia. Like everything else that resulted from the link they shared Angel would be hit harder by the contractions because of the immense amount of pain that he would suffer with a headache. By the time Mike and I arrived Angel was experiencing nose bleeds and toward the end he had blood coming out of his ears as well. The second time he lost consciousness and woke up he cut the link. He told me later that the only reason he cut the link was that he was afraid he would pass out again and miss the birth of his daughter. What I am concerned with is that Kathleen's mind is very powerful and could possibly do some serious harm to you if you should maintain the link while she goes through labor." All of the laughter had stopped and they were remembering how hard it was on Angel.

"Are you saying that we will have to cut the link when she has her first contraction?" "Yes, but most of all we have to make sure that Kathleen doesn't reach out for you. I was thinking that we might even have to do a Cesarean on her. Junior, you've been with her and seen her through most of life's trials how does she respond when she has physical pain?" Junior looked down at his plate and pushed the food around for a few seconds.

"Sean I have to side with Aunt Hunter on this. When we were little Kathleen wanted to try having a link with me just like she saw her father do with her mother. When we were 8 years old she fell down the stairs and she radiated that pain to me. My mother and father thought I was crying because I was scared because of what happened but I was crying because I was feeling everything that she was feeling. The next time that we were alone I told her to take it back because my getting hurt all of the time was enough for me to handle without having to experience her pain also."

"Give this a lot of thought Sean because we've seen what Kathleen can do with a mere thought." "I promise to give it the attention that it deserves Hunter and I'll talk to Angel about it and see what he thinks. Thank you for talking to me about this. Connor I am going to call the hospital now and see how Jack is doing. As soon as I get off of the phone I'll come and tell you. By the way, what was all of the racket this morning? It sounded like someone was taking down a wall between two rooms." "That's what the historical S & B sounds like." Sean just whistled and left to go to the clinic.

Sean called the hospital to check on Jack. "I'm sorry Dr. McConnell but Detective Cooper expired last night from his wounds. His heart stopped several times and the fourth time they marked the time of his death." "Thank you." Sean sat at his desk for awhile after he hung up the phone. He always hated telling people that their loved one died. He got up and went looking for Connor. When he came out he found everyone still at the table. Sean stood at the other end of the table and just looked at Connor.

"He died didn't he?" Connor asked. "Yes, he died last night from a heart attack. His heart stopped several times and the fourth time it stopped they marked the time of his death. Apparently the damage from the bullets was just too great and his heart couldn't take the strain. He expired at 11:15 last night. I'm sorry Connor."

Connor looked at Lou. "I guess I better go and get dressed in something nice so I can go and visit Nina Cooper, Jack's wife. When I was working with him we would often stop at his house for lunch." Connor got up then and went upstairs to change into a suit.

"I think the L.A.P.D. is going to take this very seriously." Wesley said. "They usually do when one of their own is killed. They most likely will be paying us a visit today. Most of the guys on the force know me and usually bring me kids that they find on the streets so I will probably have to go out to the warehouse today. I think I'll call Fr. Maxwell and tell him what's going on since he works with me a lot now." Gunn said then he got up to make a call at the Lobby phone at what used to be Cordelia's desk. Lou used it most of the time now and had replaced Cordelia's things with her own. The only thing she left was a picture of both Angel and Cordelia which hung on the wall right by the desk.

Buffy came downstairs by herself since Spike was sleeping now. There were only a few people left at the table now. "Good morning everyone." Buffy said as she made her way into the kitchen to make something for herself. She made herself a fried egg sandwich and a cup of coffee then went to take a seat at the dining room. She took a couple of bites then asked "What's up guys?" Wesley told her about the news of Jacks death.

"Do you think you could get by okay without me for a couple of weeks?" "Starting when?" Wesley asked. "Spike is going to be taking a test next week that will tell him if he can go onto the Resident program or not. He feels confident that he'll pass and he said he will have two weeks off before he has to return. He wants to take two weeks off then and go to Hawaii to stay at the home over there." "We heard you starting your vacation already." Wesley said. Buffy turned red from embarrassment. "Sorry about that we have to remember that were not in a basement anymore. When Spike comes off of one of his 36 hour tours of duty sex helps him to unwind so he can sleep. So he is sleeping like a baby now."

"We'll get by okay now that we have Joyce, Will and Eddie. My boys, Bobby, David and Angel's boys, Nicky and Mike are going on missions also now. I also need to tell you that I received a call from Tom last night. He said that both he and Giles would be arriving on Friday of next week. Connor had called him to let him know about his new niece so he's coming to see her. I have a feeling though that Giles will be staying Buffy." "I think so also Wesley. It will be good to see him again. He's the only grandparent our boys have left now. My biological father has never shown any interest in my children and seems to concentrate on just his new family which is just fine with me." "Why do you think he's like that?" Lou asked. "He doesn't approve of my marriage to Spike. I told him a long time ago though that I couldn't care less about what he thought. When I lost my first baby and Cordelia gave me a good talking to I realized that our marriage is approved of and blessed by God." Everyone was quiet for awhile.

"Wesley what ever happened to Cordelia's parents when she died. I don't remember even seeing them at the funeral." Buffy asked. "They finally showed up in the lobby two months after her death. Mr. and Mrs. Chase showed up with the papers that he has to give me twice each year that show all of his purchases. Can you believe they actually said that they were away when their daughter died and didn't find out about it until two weeks after her death. When I asked them why they didn't come to see their grandchildren they said they didn't see any reason to come since their daughter was already dead and buried and they had another business trip to go on. I can tell you that I felt like plugging both of them. It was the first time that I wished that I wasn't so honest because I wanted to ignore Angel's orders to continue to take care of them."

"Well I think I'll go and make sure that Giles room is nice and clean for him." Buffy said. "I think I'll check on Tom's room then after I take care of the kitchen. Everyone is on their own for lunch." Fred said as she started to pick up the dishes.

The rest of the day everyone kept busy taking care of various jobs that Joaquin and Connie would normally take care of. Lou took her daughter back upstairs and nursed her then lay down with her. She was still recovering from giving birth and tired easily. Connor came in at 3 that afternoon. When he saw Lou and Gabriel sleeping on the bed he removed his clothes and laid down with them. It had been an emotionally tiring day and he had a headache.

Connor was able to get an hours' worth of sleep then the hotels herd of elephants went running up the stairs so he got up to check on them and quiet them down. After he told them to keep it down Nicky asked about his friend Jack. "He didn't make it. I've been to see his wife; she's taking it pretty hard." "I'm sorry to hear that. Please give her my condolences." "Thank you Nicky I'll make sure that she is told what you said." Connor left then to tell the rest of the boys to keep it down to a low roar.

The next day several police officers and two detectives came into the lobby. Connor was in his office at the time and when he saw them walk past his door and to the Lobby counter he came out of his office. "Hello I'm Connor Martin can I help you?" "Yes Mr. Martin we are here to talk to you about the shooting that took place here the other day. My name is Detective Banks; this is my partner Detective Roberts. Can we also speak to Mr. Charles Gunn?" "Yes I'll call him." Connor said then he turned to the lobby phone and called Gunn's room. Five minutes later Gunn and Cylindia came downstairs. The detectives introduced themselves. "Why don't we go and sit down at the dining room table." Connor led the men over to the table and took his customary chair and the rest took chairs on either side of him.

"Would you like something to drink gentlemen?" Cylindia asked. Everyone asked for coffee and Cylindia left to prepare it.

"You heard that Jack died early yesterday morning?" Detective Banks asked. "Yes, Dr. McConnell called the hospital and checked on him this morning. Since I used to be his partner I went to see his wife early yesterday." Connor answered.

"Since you're a former police officer you can understand how hot we are about this. Our Captain wants us to come down hard on this new gang that is invading our streets. We want to make sure that everyone here is alright and to prevent another attack on your family we are going to leave these police officers here to help protect you while we are wiping out this gang." Detective Banks said as he pointed to the police officers.

"We won't need them Detective Banks. We have stepped up our own guards. Jack was killed because he wasn't aware of the alarm that we have to let us know that the building is under attack. It's why we didn't have more casualties." Connor said.

"Are you sure that you'll be okay? Most likely they'll try to get back at you Gunn." Detective Roberts said as he spoke up for the first time. "My wife, son and I are staying away from my kids for now. I left Phoenix in charge of everything. He can probably help you a lot in locating some of this gangs hide outs. I also talked to him today and he has put up extra guards around Mrs. Benton's home and older groups of teenage boys are walking all of the smaller children back and forth to school. The high school kids are being picked up as soon as classes are over for them. The reason for all of these security measures has been explained to everyone and they understand why they can't take part in any after school events for awhile. They're not happy about it but they understand and they wanted me to relay a message to you." Gunn said. "And what is that?" "Hurry up and take care of them." Gunn said laughing.

"Okay then Connor we know what you really do here and there is still many people in the L.A.P.D. that will help you whenever you need it. But as I am sure you understand that we have to be more aggressive with this because they took down one of our own. Just as your father showed no mercy when one of his family was hurt we show no mercy when we take a hit. Since this gang is new they don't understand what lines you never cross so we are going to teach them." Everyone stood up then and shook hands. "If you should need help Detective Banks please don't hesitate to ask." Connor said as he shook Banks hand and walked them all to the door.

When they left everyone else came down to the Lobby to see what the police were here for. Connor and Gunn explained what had transpired and told everyone to prepare themselves for some very active few days ahead. "Those of you that are going to school need to keep your wits about you all of the time. These types of people usually don't go onto school grounds but these guys are fighting for their lives and may try anything. Here is a phone number that you can call Detective Banks at if you should see anything such as gang members selling drugs or trying to get kids to join their gangs. They want to go after them for any and all infractions on the law of the land or laws of morality. If we can make enough of a thorn in their sides all of the gangs will be after them also." Connor handed out cards with Detective Banks and Detective Roberts cell phone numbers on them. Before everyone left the Lobby Connor said "Don't forget everyone that we are dealing with humans for this problem and we have to be more careful in handling them."

"RATS!" Everyone said at the same time then started laughing. Everyone's response showed how much they hated having to hold back when they had to use kid gloves when dealing with humans. Everyone left and went about their business. Kathleen went up into Hunters room along with Willow and Tara. Kathleen had requested that they all meet together today.

"So what's this meeting about Kathleen?" Willow asked.

"I wanted us to meet together because I have an idea that might help me to get into Wolfram & Hart so that I can get inside their building. Remember when they sent that young man into the hotel to try to kill me?" "Yes, you said that he didn't remember how he got here and seemed to be in a hypnotic state when you tried to read his mind." Hunter said.

"That's right and it got me thinking that why couldn't someone hypnotize me also so that I thought I worked at Wolfram & Hart as a custodian. If I could pull it off then the Warlocks wouldn't be able to tell that I was anything other than a custodian. The really tricky part and this is the part that I need your suggestions on, is how am I going to remember how to do the spell on the correct columns?" Kathleen said then sat back in her chair and looked at Hunter, Tara and Willow.

"The only thing we can do Kathleen is to make some tests. This coming weekend we can make our first test. The big question for me will be how am I going to hypnotize you?" "Maybe Grandpa can do it so why don't we wait for Grandpa and Tom to arrive. I'd rather not use Sean to do it unless there is no other choice." Kathleen said as she bowed her head. "Why, how does he hypnotize you Kathleen?" Hunter asked when she saw how red Kathleen's face was. "You're going to have to ask Sean and that's all you're going to get from me. This weekend though I would like for you to try to hypnotize me. I'll work at relaxing my mind so that you can hopefully be more successful. In the mean time Aunt Willow and Aunt Tara could you think about a way for me to be able to do what I have to do to bring the columns down without remembering who I really am?" Kathleen said. Willow and Tara said they would work on it then they all left and returned to their own rooms. Hunter was the only one remaining as she sat at her table. She decided to call on Sean and ask him how he hypnotized Kathleen. The suspense was killing her.

She went to his room and after checking for his scent she knocked on the door lightly. "Come in Hunter." Hunter walked in and took a seat next to him on the couch where he was sitting and reading an American Medical Journal.

"Sean I need to ask you how you hypnotized Kathleen." That got Sean's attention. "Why do you need to know that?" Hunter explained to him what Kathleen wanted to do and that the only big problem would be in just getting her hypnotized.

Sean hesitated to tell Hunter what he did. "I did the same thing to her that I used to do to my victims back when I killed for my blood." Hunter could see how embarrassed he was to admit to killing to survive. She reached for his hand. "Don't feel bad about what you did to survive Sean. We all had to do it when we were first turned. For some reason you and I had lesser demons take over our bodies and they didn't push us to continue killing for our food. All they cared about was getting blood for their food. Now Fr. Maxwell has a mean bastard in him but luckily for him he was hooked up with Angel and Willow but he admits to it though that he himself chose to kill for his food. No one but me, Wesley and Buffy know something about Spike. Spike has a young boy as his demon. Angel figured that somehow Satan took him and made him into a demon when he wished for something that he didn't understand what he was doing. This demon is so child like that Spike had to tell him what to do when the demon was in control of his body. He didn't know how to kill or rape women. Angelus taught Spike how to kill efficiently and Spike became so good at it that he has killed 3 Slayers. And yet if you were able to talk to Spikes demon you would have to talk to him like a small child. When Spike was given his soul back he didn't suffer any more then you did but that is because most of the ugliness of Spike, the Vampire, came from Spike himself. His love for Buffy is what has made him into a decent person. Both Spike and Fr. Maxwell, I think will have a lot to pay for but God has given each a way that they can pay back to society what they took. So like I said Sean you have nothing to feel bad about, you, Angel and I were never in control of ourselves before we were given our souls back."

"What kind of Vampire were you before you got your soul back?" Sean asked her. "To tell you the truth Sean I really can't remember. All I can remember is waking up a year later after I was turned. When I asked my brother what had happened to me he wouldn't tell me. All he told me was that I had died a year ago when a Vampire turned me and he was just now able to have my soul returned. He gave me my ring that enabled me to go out into the sun at the same time. Four thousand years ago Sean women in India were very submissive and didn't ask questions. Whatever the man of the house told women was to be taken as though it came from the heavens themselves. I was able to find out about what I was and why I craved blood after my brother died. That first year though is completely lost to me."

"I guess I don't feel so bad then about telling you what I did. When you left I got undressed and crawled into bed beside Kathleen. I knew that that would get her full attention. I started making love to her but before I went too far I got her to look into my eyes which is when I let my Vampire visage take over just part way. I'm not sure what people see in me but I was able to take control of her and put her into a deep sleep."

Hunter was quiet for a while after listening to him. "Sean, don't feel bad about what you had to do. Angel had to help Dr. Martin when she was raped by doing the same thing that you did to help Kathleen. Like you, he felt terribly guilty about doing it but Cordelia was able to make him understand that if it hadn't been for his ability as a Vampire to hypnotize his mother then he wouldn't have been able to help her at all. God brought you here for a reason Sean, and it wasn't just because you are a doctor. This weekend when Giles and Tom get here we are going to see if he can hypnotize her, if he can't then you will have to do it." Hunter got up then and gave him a kiss on his cheek then left.

On Friday Buffy, her children and Lou went to the airport to pickup Giles and Tom. Giles was looking tired and a little older with gray hair now replacing his dark haired sideburns and his temples. Lou was surprised at how much older Tom looked. Giles picked up Buffy and hugged her then he did the same with Joyce. Will and Eddie shook hands first then broke down and hugged him. They then traded and Tom kissed Buffy and Joyce and gave them a hug and Giles kissed Lou and hugged her.

Let's load up your suitcases and get out of here before they give me a ticket. They all loaded into the van and took off for the Hyperion. "When did you move to L.A.?" Giles asked Buffy. "Just 3 weeks ago but it seems like a month. We've had so much going on since we got here. Did anyone tell you that Lucinda Sanchez died?" Buffy asked Giles. "No, what did she die of?" "Sean said that she just died peacefully in her sleep. The Sanchez family didn't want an autopsy performed so he doesn't know exactly what it was that she died of but he is guessing she had a stroke. We also had an attack from a new gang that's in town. They came right into the hotel and started shooting. A friend of Connor's, that he used to work with, was killed so we are kind of tight on security for a while." "A Vampire gang?" "No it's a human gang that went after Gunn for taking away potential gang members. The L.A.P.D. is performing a crackdown on all gang activities because of the killing of one of their own. The best news of all is that Spike was allowed to take an early test to move onto his Residency and we just got the news that he passed. Next week we'll be heading for Hawaii. He gets 2 weeks off before he has to report to the hospital again." "Why did they let him take the test early? I thought he had to be an Intern for 2 years." "Normally he would but because he worked so much with Dr. Thompson and Dr. Martin before they died they judged him to be more than ready to move on to the Residency program."

They arrived at the hotel 45 minutes later. It was 6:30 in the evening and everyone was in the hotel for supper. All of the greetings took a good 30 minutes before Fred told everyone to get their food at the buffet. When everyone was seated Kathleen gave the thanksgiving prayer and included Spikes passing his tests. The table was busy with conversations. When Tom was done with his Supper he got up and pulled his chair over so that he could sit between Connor and Lou. He picked up his new niece from her bassinet and took a good look at her.

"Hi Gabrielle I'm your Uncle Tom. I'm your Mama's brother. I must say that they did a good job of making you. Of course I know that you got all of your looks from your Mama's side of the family." The Martins all said "Hey!" Everyone laughed. "Have you tried talking to her the way your father did to Kathleen?" Tom asked Connor.

"No but it doesn't hurt to try." Connor took his daughter from Tom and concentrated on his daughter. Gabrielle looked at her Daddy and smiled. "Can you see anything?" Lou asked. "All I can see is your breast and a vague picture of your face." Connor said. "It might be that she just can't see clearly yet. You should try again in another few weeks when she should be able to see more clearly." Sean said. "That could be it. I do smell other things that she seems to have mastered though." Connor quickly gave her back to Lou. "Come on sweet heart so Mama can clean you up. Your Daddy is just a chicken when it comes to handling Nuclear Waste.

"Connor I am going to go upstairs and put a protection spell on the hotel that will cover the entire hotel so we won't need a guard on the top." Kathleen said as she took hers and Sean's place setting into the kitchen. Sean got up and followed Kathleen upstairs.

"How have they been doing?" Giles asked no one in particular. "Good, very good." Connor said. "Apparently then Sean has found his beloved." Giles said. "He survived until her 18th birthday so we're pretty sure he'll make it until Kathleen graduates, which she is working for the end of the school year." Connor said. "What do you mean he survived until her 18th birthday?" Tom asked. "Cordelia asked Sean not to have sex with Kathleen until her 18th birthday. He said every time they started getting to hot he would feel Cordelia tapping on his shoulder and he would run to take a cold shower." Lou told Tom.

"Sean told me that when they have sex Kathleen makes them float above the bed and they don't come down until she cools down." Connor said. Lou kicked him under the table. "Owe! What did you do that for?" Connor asked as he reached down and rubbed his shin. "That's personal." Lou said. "How would you like me to tell everyone what you do when we have sex?" "Oh, no I don't think you have to do that. I get your point." Connor said. Everyone laughed at his embarrassment.

"Well it's been a long day for me so I think I'll go to bed. Do I still have my old room Fred?" Giles asked as he got up. "Yes it's all ready for you." "Goodnight everyone." They all watched him going to the elevator.

"How has he been doing Tom?" Buffy asked. "He's tired Buffy. He's tired of being alone and he misses Dr. Martin. He says that she comes and visits with him all of the time but he misses being able to touch her. His housekeeper tells me that he doesn't stick to the diet that Sean gave him and often sits in his library and stares out of the window. Buffy I believe that Giles has come home to die and he wants to be with his family as much as possible. I've been carrying most of the load of taking care of the Watchers Council. At least once each day I go to see him in his apartment and we discuss the business of the Watchers Council. I am going to be going back to England in three weeks Wesley and I would like for you to go with me and for you to officially take over the leading of the Watchers Council."

"Why don't you just take over since you've been taking care of things already?" Wesley asked. "Some of the older Watchers are having a big problem with me being the son of two Vampires. They think the same way as I heard your father did." "Let me talk to Giles first and then I'll let you know what we'll do." Everyone got up then and started to clear the table and clean up the kitchen. They all went to their own rooms then.

Buffy went up to Giles room and softly knocked at the door. "Come in Buffy." Buffy opened the door. "How did you know it was me?" "I just know you real well." Buffy went over and sat next to Giles on the bed. "How have you been?" "I know Tom has told you already what has been going on Buffy so you don't have to play around. I am retiring Buffy and I've come home to live out the rest of my life. I want to see my grandchildren grow up. I want to be around the family." Buffy bent over and hugged Giles. "Welcome home Daddy, welcome home." She got up then and left.

The next day there was another attempt by the gang to break into the Hotel and kill Gunn. This time they were ready for them and they had them restrained and ready for the police before they even had a chance to start firing their guns. Kathleen had called Detective Banks and they were on their way to pick up the gang members.

Four days later the gang used different tactics. To their way of thinking Gunn was the cause of all of their problems so he was their prime target. Since they hadn't been successful in just surprise attacks on his home they thought they would have to wait and get him when he was away from the rest of the people in the hotel. Every morning one of the gang members was dropped off to hang around the streets surrounding the hotel. They quickly found that Gunn never went out without company. Usually a couple of men accompanied him. His wife though would occasionally go to the hospital to work but was driven to the hospital and picked up by several people. Gang activity in the area had been dampened because of the crackdown by the L.A.P.D. so they had lots of time on their hands to monitor the coming and going of Gunn's family. They almost never saw his son but his wife traveled to the hospital at least once each week. They decided to use his wife to draw him out on his own.

One week after the last failed attempt on Gunn's life they waited for Cylindia to go to the hospital. Buffy and Spike had returned from their Hawaiian vacation the Sunday before Spike was due to start his Residency at the hospital. Since Spike and Cylindia would be getting off of work at the same time they only sent Buffy to pick them up. It was 8 at night and as usual Buffy drove up to the emergency entrance and Cylindia and Spike came out and got into the van. As they were making their way back to the hotel on the freeway an old van pulled up alongside of them and put a bullet into the front tire then attempted to force them off of the road. Buffy held on tightly though and managed to control the van until she was able to pull over safely. The old van didn't stop as they expected them to. While Spike and Buffy got out of the van to change the tire Cylindia got on her cell phone to let Gunn know that they would be a little late. When she opened up her cell phone she found that she was in a blind section so that she couldn't pick up a signal. She got out of the van and went to the front to see how long it would take to put the spare on. "It should only take a few minutes, why?" Spike asked. "I can't pick up a signal for the cell phone so that I can let Gunn know what happened." "As soon as we get back on the road you can call him otherwise there is nothing we can do about it."

At the same time that this was happening Gunn got a phone call from the hospital. "Mr. Gunn this is Nadine, I'm a nurse at St. Mary's, you're wife was brought in after an accident on the freeway. You should come as soon as possible, she was hurt pretty bad." "Thank you I'll be there as soon as I can." Except for Wesley, Giles, Fred and Lou everyone else was gone on one of Kathleen's missions. He ran to the kitchen where Fred was. "Fred, I just received a call from St. Mary's hospital. They said Cylindia was taken there after an accident. Let Connor know when he gets back." "Wait Gunn let me get Wesley to go with you." "I can't wait Fred they said she was pretty bad." Gunn went running out of the door then and to his truck in the back. As he opened the truck door several shots rang out and Gunn went down. No one in the hotel heard the gun shots.

Thirty minutes later Buffy pulled into the covered parking spaces. When Spike walked by Gunn's truck he stopped. "What's wrong?" Buffy asked. "I smell blood." Spike walked back to the truck and went over to the driver's side. "Buffy get the van; it's Gunn and he's been shot." Buffy quickly pulled the van over by the truck and opened the side door. He pulled out seats in the center row so he could put Gunn flat on the floor. He picked up Gunn and put him in the van. Cylindia had got in first and was holding her husband's head in her lap. Buffy pulled out as soon as Spike got in. While Buffy drove he called Detective Banks and let him know what happened and told him they were taking Gunn to the hospital. When he was done with Banks he called Wesley and let him know what happened. Wesley then called Kathleen's phone. "Hello this is Kathleen." "Kathleen this is Wesley are you guys on your way back yet?" "Yes we're just getting ready to leave now." "Kathleen Gunn has been shot and Spike, Buffy and Cylindia are taking him to the hospital right now." "Okay Uncle Wesley I'll let Connor know and well go directly to the hospital." "I'll meet you there as soon as Willow gets back so she can put a protective spell up on the hotel." "Okay Uncle Wesley."

As everyone reached the hospital they went running into the emergency room and asked about Gunn. The receptionist called the emergency desk to check on his condition. "Someone will be out here in a moment to talk to you." Spike came through the emergency doors within the next minute. Everyone stood up.

"How is he doing Spike?" Wesley asked. "It doesn't look like he is going to make it Wesley. He has lost a lot of blood. Sean was still here when we got here and he's in there now trying to save him but he doesn't think he's going to make it. Cylindia is in there helping so I'm only going to take Wesley right now." "Uncle Spike, do you think I can do anything for him?" "No Kathleen, I think he's in God's hands now." Wesley and Spike left then to go into the emergency room. When they entered the unit they saw blood soaked gauze all over the floor. Sean and another Doctor were working on Gunn as Cylindia stood by the bed and assisted where she could. Even though they were giving him blood he was bleeding faster than they could replace it. Gunn opened his eyes and looked at his wife for the last time. Cylindia kissed him as he closed his eyes. They all heard the monitor stop beeping. "Let's call it. Time of death is 9:20 P.M." Cylindia made the appropriate notation on his chart then started to remove the needles and tubes out of her husband. Sean came over to her and put his arms around her. "Let someone else do that Cylindia." "No, it's the last thing that I can do for him. I'll be out in a few minutes. I have to let Daniel know that his father has died and won't be coming home anymore." Sean, Spike, Wesley and the rest left then so that Cylindia could take care of her husband for the last time.

Everyone stood up when they saw Spike and Wesley coming out. Detective Banks and Roberts were in the waiting room also. Spike signaled to them to step over to the side and away from the group while Wesley let everyone know that Gunn had died. He let the detectives know what had happened. Fred heard them talking and came over to explain that someone had called Gunn at the hotel and said that Cylindia had been in a bad accident. Gunn didn't want to wait for me to call Wesley to go with him.

"This was apparently a setup to get at him. I don't suppose you got a look at the van that tried to push you off of the road?" "It was an old white Ford van and it had a Delaware license plate on it." Spike said. "It's probably a stolen plate so that it's no use in trying to remember the number. We'll need the bullets from the autopsy so we can match them up with the guns."

Connor, Wesley, Buffy and Kathleen came over and joined the group. "What kind of plans does the department have for taking care of this gang?" Connor asked.

Detective Banks was reluctant to say anything and Connor saw this. "We can work together to take care of this gang or we can work separately. It would be better if we worked together." Detective Banks decided to take a chance since they had now lost one of their own just as the police officers had.

"Tomorrow night we are going into the heart of their territory and confront them in the parking lot of the local grocery store. This store closes at 8 in the evening and has a steel gate that goes around it. The word has been leaked out that we will be performing a crackdown in the neighborhood and the collection area will be at this store. Our informants tell us that the gang leader has no intention of letting us get away with this and is going to show us who controls the neighborhood. We believe that this gang has at least 89 members in it. Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated but I've noticed that you have 9 people that are under 21. Do they know how to fight and handle themselves?" Connor looked at the rest and laughed. "Detective Banks you've told me that you know about us and what we really do at Angel Investigations so let me ask you do you know what a Slayer is?" "Yes." "Do you know what they can do?" The Detective was quiet for a moment. "That speaks for the girl but what about the boys?" "Junior, could you come over here for a minute please?" Connor called to Junior. "This is Joaquin Sanchez, a member of our group; Junior as we call him has a black belt in Karate and is considered a master in several other forms of the Martial Arts. He also teaches the rest of the teenage boys the Martial Arts. All of these boys are seasoned fighters. My sister, Kathleen will be the one that will be able to help us the most. She won't take part in any fighting but she will control most of the fighting and make it safer so that the least amount of injuries will take place."

The detective looked at Kathleen and after awhile he decided that he didn't want to know how she was going to do this. "Okay, if it's okay with you we'll meet at your hotel tomorrow at 6 and head out at 7."


	8. Chapter 8

I'm sorry it took so long for the previous chapter to be posted but my Hard Drive bit the dust. I was starting to use it one day and I started smelling something burning. I didn't dare touch it again until I could buy a new one and then take a chance on transferring my files to the new one. That was a scary 30 minutes. Thanks for your patience though.

Kinoa

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Chapter 8

The next night after Gunn's death the hotel lobby was full. Phoenix and several of the older boys in the group had joined the AI team. All of them had learned the Martial Arts from Junior. Connie and Joaquin had returned to L.A. on Sunday night and Connie was busy putting out food for anyone that wanted a snack. At exactly 6 P.M. Detective Banks and Roberts came in followed by 20 uniformed police officers.

Connor stepped forward and greeted Detective Banks with a handshake. "Good evening Connor. I see that you have a few more people here to help." "Yes, they are from Gunn's group and have the same qualifications as the other people in my group." As Connor was talking to Det. Banks they heard the doors open again and were surprised to see Morgan and a group of people from among his guards.

"Connor, we have come to join the party." "You are more than welcome Morgan." Connor introduced Morgan and his men to everyone in the police department. "I noticed that you hand is cold Mr. Morgan, am I correct that the rumors about your being a Vampire are correct?" "Yes, do you have a problem with that?" "No, if you're a friend of Connors then you're more than welcome. Let's get this show on the road Connor."

Det. Banks turned to everyone and started to tell everyone how they were going to proceed. "The gang we will be pursuing has known hangouts. My officers will be cleaning out these locations and bringing them over to the store parking lot where they will be processed. Sometime during the first hour we expect the rest of the gang to start coming out of the proverbial woodwork. That's when we will need all of Connors group to assist us. Be ready for anything from guns to knives. Expect guns of all kinds and knives of different types. These people, as they are sometimes referred to, fight dirty. They have no problem with dying for their fellow gang members. They have no problem with killing men, women and children. They have gang members that are as young as 9 so don't trust anyone coming at you just because they seem too young to be a gang member. The hardest part of this will be in being careful how you handle these people. They will jump at the chance to call foul play. Does anyone have anything to add?" Neither Connor nor Morgan said anything. "Okay then let's go." Everyone filed out of the front doors. Kathleen rode with Connor and Sean in Wesley's SUV. This was going to be Sean's first fight. Kathleen held Sean's hand throughout the ride to the store. She could feel his nervousness. Connor sensed his apprehension. "Stay with Kathleen Sean. Don't join the fight unless you have to. But if you do join the fight remember that they are human and we have to handle them with kid gloves so to speak." "Are you afraid I won't be able to help?" "No, I just don't want our only surgeon to be hurt. Hunter knows a lot but she isn't a surgeon." "Okay Boss." Sean gave Connor a salute which he returned.

It took them 20 minutes to arrive at their destination. The parking lot was loaded with police vans and cars. All of the police cars were on one side of the parking lot while the van was on the other. Junior and Tom drove two mini-vans loaded with the AI team while Morgan and his group had two more large vans loaded with his people. As Det. Banks requested they all stayed to the side while the police started their raids.

 Kathleen got out and climbed to the top of Wesley's SUV and just sat there while eating an orange and drinking a can of Cherry flavored Coke. Sean was standing in the front with Connor. "Does she ever get nervous before a fight?" Sean asked. "Never; I asked her one time why she never got nervous before a fight and she said she could see what was in other people's minds when she wanted to. Dad and Cordelia found out about her little trick early on when they would try to discipline her. Dad said she always seemed to know what they were really thinking and if they were really mad at her or not. He said that she always seemed to know how to act to get him to forgive her. After they figured out what she was doing they made sure she understood that it wasn't polite to get into other people's minds without their permission. Now when she comes along on a mission it's the only time that she gets into other people's minds."

"Are you telling Sean all of my secrets Connor?" "Yes because I want him to know what he is getting himself into." "I guess that's okay then. By the way I hear gang members in the immediate vicinity talking about what they are going to do." "What are they saying?" "They're going to attack when they bring in their gang members." "Do they have any idea what the rest of us are doing here?" "No they seem to think that we are just nosy." "Good, they'll be surprised then when we take part in the fight."

The uniformed police were coming back now with several van loads of gang members. As soon as the van doors were opened and the members unloaded the other members of the gang started to surround the police.

One of them stepped forward to talk to the police. "Just let them go and no one has to get hurt and we'll just walk away." Det. Banks came over to talk with the gang member. "You people have broken the law, you killed one of our Detectives and last night you killed an innocent man just because he was helping homeless kids. We're going to put an end to your gang tonight or in the coming weeks, so I suggest that you just call in all of your gang members and tell them to give up." The gang members all laughed. "Are we going to let these animals leave men?" Det. Banks asked the rest of the police officers. It was the police officers turn to laugh this time. "What's your name boy?" The Detective asked. "Fernando." "Well Fernando, are we going to just stand here and talk about something that will never happen or are you going to let us proceed with the booking of these miscreants?" In answer Fernando produced a gun and pointed it at the Detective's head.

Fernando pulled the trigger but nothing happened. He pulled the trigger again and again but still nothing happened. Several others pulled their guns and tried shooting officers but nothing happened. Someone came forward with a machine gun and tried firing it at the officers but nothing happened.

"You know you just can't trust anyone now days. Do they say made in China on the bottom?" One of the police officers asked as all of the officers laughed. With the last remark the gang members jumped on the officers holding onto the arrested gang members. They were clearly outnumbered so Connor and Morgan took that as their cue to jump in and help.

It didn't take long for the new group to control those gang members that they were fighting. All of the gang members had knives but since the AI team and Morgan's men were all used to fighting demons with long claws they were easily able to avoid getting slashed. All of the men had been given plastic hand cuffs and as soon as they could get them on the ground they cuffed them and left them where they were. Sean jumped in the fight also when he saw several gang members ganging up on one of the officers. They had their knives out and were trying to shove them under his bullet proof vests. Sean pulled one off of the officer and quickly disarmed him and placed one of the handcuffs on him. He grabbed the other one and did the same thing to him. The officer now had more of a fair chance to defend himself. After he had his man disarmed, down on the ground and handcuffed he turned and shook Sean's hand. They both started helping others then. As they saw the police starting to win the gang started to run. Kathleen though had put a shield up around the parking lot that prevented them from leaving. Fernando guessed that Kathleen had something to do with this. As the fighting came closer to her Fernando used the commotion to hide his actions. He carefully climbed up the back of the SUV grabbed Kathleen by putting his arm around her neck and pulled a knife out of his belt while holding it to her throat. "I know you're the one keeping us in here somehow so stop it or I'll end it by cutting your throat."

Sean and Connor saw what was happening and made a move to come to her aid. "Don't do it or I'll cut her throat." Connor and Sean backed up. While Fernando's attention was on Connor and Sean Kathleen brought her fist down to Fernando's crotch as hard as she could. As he dropped his knife to grab his testicles she grabbed his arm and flipped him over so that he landed on the ground at Connors feet. She jumped down to the ground and got on her knees next to Fernando and grabbed his shirt. "Don't ever put your arm around a ladies throat like that again." He didn't really hear her though because he was still on the ground and trying to comfort his manhood.

Connor pulled Fernando's arms back and put the plastic cuffs on him then pulled him up and pushed him towards the police. By the end of the night they had arrested and booked 250 gang members and they were happy that no one was hurt. Kathleen reported to Connor that she could hear other gang members talking. Connor went to Det. Banks and told him what Kathleen had said but Det. Banks told Connor that they couldn't do anything about them until they tried something.

All of the police officers shook the hand of all of the men that had helped them before they parted. Everyone loaded up in their respective vehicles and left to return home. Kathleen got into the SUV next to Connor and Sean got in after her. As they were driving home Kathleen leaned forward and put her hand to her back then pulled it in front of her once again. Her hand was covered in blood. She showed it to Sean. He put his arm around her and hugged her tightly. "Hurry Connor."

In 15 minutes Connor made it to the hotel. Sean jumped out and pulled Kathleen into his arms and ran into the hotel and the clinic after the protective spell was taken down. Everyone gathered in the Lobby to hear any news on Kathleen. Thirty minutes later Fred came out and told everyone that she was okay. Connor, Nicky and Mike followed her back into the clinic. Kathleen was sitting up while Sean finished putting a bandage on her back.

"What happened to you? You seemed to be alright when you jumped down from Wesley's SUV." Connor asked. "I didn't really feel it until we were coming home and I was leaning against the seat." Kathleen said. "He apparently sliced her when he drew his knife up and to her throat. It looks like his knife was extremely sharp. It cut through her clothes and about a half inch into her flesh and made a 6 inch gash. She should be alright by the morning. I just taped the two sides together and she should have fresh skin over the wound by the time she comes down for breakfast." Sean said as he finished with the bandage.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Connor asked her. "Yes I'm okay now. I think I need to have something to eat though because I'm feeling very light headed." Fred went to the refrigerator in the clinic and pulled out a Cherry flavored Cola and gave it to her. "Thank you Fred." Kathleen drank most of the coke before putting it down. "I was thirsty." "You're thirsty because you lost some blood but not enough to warrant a transfusion. I want your brothers to walk you up stairs so you can go to bed and I'll bring something up for you to eat." Sean said as he helped Kathleen down from the exam bed. She swayed a little when she stood up so Connor picked her up and carried her to the elevator and then to her bedroom. Connor put her down once he got into the bedroom. He waited for her while she changed into her night gown in the bathroom. When she came out he held the covers up while she slipped into bed then covered her and sat down next to her on the bed.

Connor held his sisters hands and said "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you Kathleen. For Nicky, Mike and me you are the center of the Martin family. And Sean, I don't know what he would do if something serious should happen to you." "Try not to worry about me too much Connor. We know that I will be your Seer for a long time yet and Sean and I will live long enough to produce enough babies to wear Aunt Willow and Aunt Tara out." Connor just hugged his sister then got up and went down to his own bedroom.

Joyce came running in when Connor left. "Are you hurt very bad?" "No, the guy's knife was so sharp that I didn't even feel it when he cut me. I didn't even realize that I was hurt until I got into the SUV." "Can I see it?" "Sean has a bandage on it." "Did you need stitches?" "No he just held the two sides together while Aunt Hunter put a tape on it. He said I should be alright by tomorrow morning." Joyce hugged Kathleen carefully and gave her a kiss on her cheek then left.

Sean came upstairs with a sandwich and chips for Kathleen and himself along with a thermos of blood. "Here we are young lady." "Thank you Sean. You'll make a good husband that I won't have to train hardly at all." Kathleen gave him a sweet smile to let him know that she was only kidding. "I saw you fighting tonight and I want to tell you that you did almost as good as Connor. I think he'll ask you to go on more missions once you get thru with your training at the hospital." They were quiet for awhile while they ate their sandwiches. When Sean saw that she was done he took the tray away and cleaned the glasses and dishes then put them back on the tray so he could take them downstairs in the morning. He pulled out a bottle of water and put it on the nightstand next to Kathleen then turned the lights off and closed the drapes tightly. He went to the other side of the bed and took his clothes off then slid in next to Kathleen and pulled her into his arms.

"If you should die Kathleen I think I would just walk into the Sun light. I wouldn't want to continue without you." Kathleen sat up and looked at him. "Don't ever say that Sean. If you should ever commit suicide you could never join me in heaven. Promise me that you would never even try to commit suicide Sean." He hesitated in answering her. "Promise me Sean." "I promise never to try to end my life." Kathleen lay back down again and snuggled back into his arms. He heard her heart start to slow down now. He had heard her heart beating real fast when he talked about suicide. It had slowed down to a restful rate now. He kissed the top of her head then went to sleep also.

The next day Connor went to pickup Gunn's ashes from the Mortuary. When he got them home he put them on the altar in the chapel. Connor sat down for awhile. Kathleen, Cylindia and her son Jerry Lee came in and sat down for awhile.

Although Cylindia was Catholic and she was raising her son as Catholic Gunn had remained a Baptist and was one of only two in the group that did not convert to Catholicism. Cylindia was sitting next to Kathleen and said "I wish Charles had converted to the Catholic Church then we could have all of the prayers and mass said for him." Don't worry about his soul Cylindia he is with Jesus in Heaven. Give me your hands and I will show you what Grandma showed me." Cylindia and Kathleen held hands then Kathleen put her head down and concentrated. Within the next second Cylindia saw her husband being greeted by Christ. He hugged Gunn for a long time. Surrounding them was Angel, Cordelia, Dr. Martin and his sister. He went to each of them and hugged them. Then they all turned and walked into a bright light where they could see other people then the vision ended. When Cylindia lifted her head she looked at Kathleen with tears falling down her face. "Thank you Kathleen."

Charles Gunn's funeral service was to take place the following Friday at 6 in the evening. The small local Baptist Church could accommodate only half of the people that were saying they would attend so Wesley had to look around for a non-denominational church that was big enough to accommodate at least a thousand people. It took awhile but he finally found one in Hollywood. On the day of the funeral they hired five off duty police officers to direct the traffic. No one was surprised at the amount of people attending because Gunn and his boys affected a lot of lives. Most of the time he more or less rescued them when they were at the lowest and they were scared and hungry. Many would write back to him and let him know how much they appreciated what he had done for them. Some went on to become successful people and became one of his many contributors. The AI team came in a Limo that Wesley had hired for the day and when they all got out they saw at least 20 black Limousines parked in a special section for them.

"Look at all those Limousines." Connor said. "They belong to people that Gunn helped at one time or another. In fact that's what the majority of these people are." Wesley said. He helped Cylindia out of the car then escorted her into the church along with Jerry Lee who walked next to his mother. Connor carried Gunn's ashes and placed it on a table that was loaded with flowers.

"You know I think this gathering out does Dad and Cordelia's funeral." Connor whispered to Wesley. "It took me awhile just to find a church big enough to accommodate all of the people that were e-mailing me." The services started then and everyone became quiet. The people that came up to talk about Gunn had to be limited to five people since everyone wanted to come up and say something. It had been a long hard day for Cylindia and she was just barely keeping it together. Kathleen came over to her and held her hand for awhile. After five minutes Cylindia was able to hold her head up and seemed to have renewed strength. Kathleen went back to her seat next to Sean and leaned her head against his shoulder.

At 9 p.m. the funeral services were finally over and everyone returned home. They had a big reception at the warehouse that Gunn's kids called home but Cylindia was too tired to attend. Sean gave her something to sleep so that she could get her first full night's sleep since Gunn had died.

Everyone was at the breakfast table the next morning. Everyone was quiet during breakfast and keeping to their own thoughts. Fred was the first to break the silence.

"It looks like we're coming down to the wire Wesley. You and I are the only ones that are left from the original team." Wesley put his arm around his wife and said "Don't worry Fred we still have work to do. You still haven't chosen the children that will take over from Dr. Martin or me. Besides we still have to see if Cordelia's prediction will come true." "What prediction was that?" "The one where she said, 'when Kathleen gets herself a man she is going to start having babies like a regular bunny'." Everyone laughed at Wesley's remark. "You better start taking your vitamins now Sean because my sister is going to have you working overtime as soon as you two get married." Connor said.

"It's a good thing she's at school right now or she would be chasing you up the stairs." Sean said. "I never let myself get in that position. She might change me into a bunny or something. I only play that game when I'm doing the pursuing because then she starts laughing so hard that she can't think of anything but running and I always win." Connor said with a smile. "So that's your secret. Don't worry Connor I won't tell her unless it's to my advantage to tell her." Sean said as he picked up his place setting and took them into the kitchen. Connor just looked at Wesley then at Lou. "You'll protect me won't you Lou?" "Yes dear." She said as she patted his hand.

The next day Wesley, Fred and Mrs. Benton packed up and left for Ireland along with Cylindia and her son Jerry Lee. They stayed in Ireland for two weeks. Mr. Jenkins had ordered a marble grave stone for Gunn's grave and the local Baptist minister presided over the burial service. They had set up chairs and a tent over the burial site since it looked like it was going to snow. After Mrs. Benton, the minister and Jerry Lee left Cylindia and Wesley just sat for awhile.

"I'm glad that your with Angel now Gunn. He probably forgot what it was like for you to be teasing him. Now Cordelia will have to put up with you two rolling around on the floor again and fighting for that last half of your sandwich. I can't begin to tell you how much I miss you three. You know it never bothered me before that I was told that I was to be the last one to leave this world but now it does. If it wasn't for Fred I don't think I could go on. If ever I needed your strength Angel it's now. I miss you guys more than I can say. Now I know what it was like for you to love someone and have to watch them grow old and die and for you to be left alone over and over again." Wesley took Cylindia's hand in his. "I'll take care of Cylindia and Jerry Lee Gunn. Phoenix seems to have taken over from you and everything is continuing just as though you were still here except now they have officially called the warehouse where your kids stay as Gunn's Kids. After your funeral I received over 5 million dollars in donations to take care of your kids. I'm working with Peter to set things up so that Gunn's Kids will be an official charity and so that your kids will be taken cared of for many years to come. The gang that was responsible for your death has been cleaned out. Kathleen traveled with Det. Banks for a few days and was able to tell him where she could hear people talking about their involvement in the gang. The houses she identified were put under observation for awhile and they were able to obtain all the evidence they needed for arrests. I guess that's all I have to say for now. I love you guys and I am eagerly awaiting the day when I can join you. Goodbye my friend." Wesley and Cylindia got up then and walked back to Angel's ancestral home.

Two weeks later Cylindia, Jerry Lee and Mrs. Benton left for Los Angeles while Wesley and Fred left to go on to England so that he could take over as head of the Watchers Council. Wesley had asked Giles to return to England one last time so that they could have a proper transfer of power. Wesley, Giles and Tom discussed the problem of the older Watchers attitude towards Tom the evening that they were first able to meet together at Wesley's mother's house. "I want you to understand Tom that my intentions are for you to take over from me within the next two years. If you don't feel comfortable with that we can extend it until you are. Tomorrow we'll meet before the entire council and Giles will officially retire and hand control over to me. I'll make sure that they understand that you will be my second in command and you will be taking care of the day to day business of the council. The first thing I want to do is to check into retiring those Council members that are of retirement age. We will carry on with Giles plan to get rid of those members that have the old way of looking at those that we watch. I want the known Vampires to be treated with more compassion from now on. I am also going to let it be known that we can arrange to have a Vampires soul returned if they ask for it. Angel and I had talked about this before he died and he felt that we should offer this to anyone that asked for it. This of course would be based on the advice of the assigned watcher." 

"That will make things a lot easier on me Wesley. I was shocked when I heard about the attitude that the older Watchers have towards Vampires. Can you believe that I actually came across the report from the Watchers that were assigned to my Mother and Father? He reported that 'The female Vampire delivered two babies today. They appear to be normal human babies but I can't get close enough to check them. It is clear that it is not entirely impossible for two Vampires to reproduce themselves'. His next report tells of my mother's death at my father's own hands. His report wasn't very complimentary of my father and referred to him as something worse than a wild animal. He expected us to be next and was surprised when he heard babies crying in the cabin several weeks later." "It's a good thing that your father was an educated man otherwise I don't think you and Lou would have made it. Did your father ever tell you how he got the milk you needed?" Giles asked. "He said he caught a moose with a calf and milked her every day." "How in heavens name did he do that?" Giles asked. "He said if it wasn't for his Vampiric strength he wouldn't have been able to, but after she kicked him a few times he finally was able to knock her out for awhile. The next day he built a special corral where he could make her stand for being milked."

"Well as interesting as this has been gentleman I believe it's time for this old man to go to bed. Let's go Tom." Tom and Giles said goodnight to everyone and then left to go back to their apartments on the grounds of the Watchers School.

Three weeks later Wesley, Fred and Giles were able to return home. It would be the last time that Giles would see England.

At the end of the school year Kathleen was graduating. She had completed four years worth of college in just two years. Sean was through with his refresher course and was no longer on call all of the time. Kathleen was now nineteen and was ready to get married. She had delayed starting to work at the hospital for 2 months so that she could devote all of her time to helping Fred and Buffy organize the wedding. Even the planning of how to go about destroying the Wolfram & Hart building had been put on the back burner. It was now May 15th and the wedding was scheduled for June 15th.

At breakfast, and after everyone seemed to be done eating, Kathleen tapped her glass with her spoon. "Yes Miss Martin." Connor said sarcastically. "I'll ignore that for now Mr. Martin. I have decided that I am going to go and spend the last two weeks before the wedding over at the Morgan's. What do you think Aunt Fred?" Kathleen asked. "I think that's a good idea. Did you ask David and Marissa yet?" "Yes, I called Marissa last night and she said it would be okay with her. Besides I have Stacy there to help keep my mind off of things. The morning of the wedding I'll come home and get dressed over here." "What about me?" Sean asked. "You Sean will have your hands full getting the suit that you are TOLD to wear and remembering to say 'I DO'." Connor said with a laugh. "It's like my Dad told me before Lou and I got married. 'As long as you remember son that this is their wedding and you just have to say I DO when signaled to do so you'll be okay'."

Sean just smiled back at everyone. Wesley saw the look on his face though. After Breakfast he called Sean into his office. Sean took a seat in front of Wesley's desk and wearing a grin. "I know you have something that your cooking up Sean so what is it?" "Remember the large box I received from Scotland last week?" "Yes." "Well that box contained my suit." "Don't tell me you're going to wear a skirt?" "Actually it's called a Kilt, and yes that is what I am going to wear. I have my family coat of arms on the Brooch and a traditional Sporran and chain. I also ordered a Brooch and Sash for Kathleen. The colors and pattern are part of my family coat of arms. I plan on putting it on her during the marriage ceremony just in case she thinks it will clash with her dress." "I don't think she will have a problem with it Sean, in fact I think that she will feel honored." "I hope so because I want this to be her fairy tale wedding that all girls dream of." Sean said as he got up from his chair. "By the way what's the color of your skirt?" Sean turned around and walked back to Wesley. He stood in front of him and let his eyes go red. "It's not a skirt, it's a Kilt and its green and black and the Sporran is white." Wesley started laughing as Sean let his eyes go back to normal and turn and walked away. "One more thing Sean, are you going to wear boxers or panties?" Wesley slammed his office door shut before Sean could even react. He slid down to the floor laughing so hard that tears started falling. When he was finally able to control himself he got up and went to his desk and sat down. When he looked up and through the window he saw Sean sitting on a chair that he had brought over to the window. He was just sitting there waiting for Wesley to come out and wearing a big grin.

For the next two hours Sean sat there and unlike Wesley Sean rarely had to go to the bathroom where as Wesley had to go frequently to relieve himself. Right now he was thinking of all that coffee he had drunk at breakfast. His leg started to shake as he started to have difficulty retaining his water. Wesley looked at Sean staring at him with a big grin. He knew as soon as he opened the door Sean was going to jump him so he knew he needed help. He called the most powerful woman in the Hotel, Fred.

"Hello, this is Fred." "Fred I need for you to come to my office please." "I'll be there in a minute." As Fred was walking down the stairs she saw Sean sitting in front of Wesley's office. "What's wrong Sean?" "Nothing is wrong. Wesley said something to me and then shut the door. He's afraid to come out now because he knows I'm going to get him as soon as he comes out. I knew he had a couple of cups of coffee at breakfast this morning and he hasn't been to the bathroom yet. His bladder must be so full now that it must be leaking into his leg cause he starting bouncing it a few minutes ago but he is too afraid to come out." "So he thought he could use me as a shield." "I think that's what he is planning." Sean never took his eyes off of the window as he was talking to Fred. "Let him at least go to the bathroom before you do anything okay?" "Okay, I'll give him that time."

Fred went to the door. "It's okay to come out now Wesley Sean said he would let you at least go to the bathroom." Wesley unlocked the door and ran to the bathroom underneath the stairs while keeping Fred between himself and Sean. A few minutes later he came out looking a lot more relieved. "Now what is this all about?" Sean looked around the Lobby. When he saw that no one was around he leaned into Fred and said "I told him that I was going to wear a traditional Kilt for the wedding and your husband asked me 'Are you going to wear boxers or panties'. That's when I decided to pulverize him." Fred held her hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

"Apologize to Sean Wesley or he won't let you get upstairs alive." "I'm sorry Sean and I won't kid you about them again." Wesley held out his hand so they could shake on it. Sean looked closely at Wesley to see if he was telling the truth. Wesley couldn't help cracking a smile so he ran for the gym with Sean right on his heels. Fred went running after them and caught up just in time to see Sean lifting Wesley over his head and throwing him into the pool.

When Wesley surfaced he made his way over to the steps and stood in front of Sean. Fred just looked at them. "I see that Gunn is still around and instigating little games for you men to play. Are you done now?" "Yes Dear." Wesley said. "Yes Fred." Sean said. Fred left then and returned to her suite of rooms where she was folding clothes.

Unknown to Sean though Nicky and Mike had come out to the hallway and were listening to what was going on downstairs when they heard all of the noise. They got to the rail just as Sean was telling Fred what Wesley had said. Nicky and Mike went back to their rooms after looking at each other. Mike knew his brother well enough to know that Nicky had plans for this information. He didn't say anything though he just thought he would wait for Nicky to come up with something. Nicky didn't disappoint him.

Two weeks later, after Kathleen had left to go to the Morgan's Nicky and Mike slipped into Sean's rooms when he was out of the Hotel. They found his Kilt and shorts that he would wear with them, hanging in the closet at the very back. Nicky took the shorts and put a pair of woman's large black panties that he had bought, on the hanger. Both Nicky and Mike had worn latex gloves that they had taken from the clinic so that they wouldn't leave their scent on anything. Nicky put the hanger back in the closet and made sure that everything was back in its place. They then went to the bed and placed the shorts in between the mattresses and made sure that they straightened the covers again. They listened at the door and couldn't hear or smell anyone moving around outside so they slipped out again and returned to Nicky's room.

One week before the wedding they were all at the Supper table eating. Connor saw Nicky and Mike exchanging frequent glances. "Nicky and Mike, what are you two up too?" Connor asked. "Nothing." Nicky and Mike answered at the same time. Connor stared at them. They each thought of what they had done and Sean picked up on it. He jumped up and went running upstairs and to his closet. He quickly looked at the back for his kilt and pulled it out. He looked at it carefully and couldn't find anything wrong. He pulled out the hanger that was supposed to have the shorts on it. He saw red when he found a pair of large size black panties on the hanger.

When Nicky and Mike heard Sean coming back down stairs they went running into the gym and changed into wolves. Sean approached the table. "Where are they?" "They went running into the gym." Connor answered. Sean threw the panties on the table and went running into the gym. Fred reached over and picked up the underwear. She held them up and looked at them curiously. "Were in heavens name did he get these?"

Nicky and Mike were at the other end of the pool and waiting for Sean. He saw they had changed to wolves but he hesitated to do the same thing. Both Nicky and Mike were young wolves that were fully grown but didn't have the bulk that maturity would give them. He reasoned that as a wolf he would only be able to catch one of them but in human form he could catch both. Sean stood at the front of the pool and waited for one of them to make a move. Nicky made a break for the Hotel. Sean used his Vampiric speed to catch him and throw him in the pool. He then went for Mike who took the opportunity to run for the doors to the Hotel but Sean caught him as well and threw him into the pool.

Everyone had run into the gym and was watching the confrontation. Fred had brought the undergarment in question with her. "Okay, if you want to ever walk on land again you'll tell me what you did with the shorts and who told you about the Kilt?" Both Nicky and Mike changed back to human form. "It was just a joke Sean, can't you take a joke?" Nicky said after he was able to stand up in the shallow end of the pool. Mike was still recovering from almost drowning when he changed. His brother had to help him stand up when he forgot to change one of his legs.

"We heard you talking to Aunt Fred and telling her what Uncle Wesley had said. We were standing on the third floor balcony when you told her." Mike said.

Sean looked at them. "I didn't want your sister to know about the Kilt because I wanted it to be a surprise. I hope for your sake that you didn't tell her anything." "No we haven't spoken to her since she left." Nicky said.

Sean turned around and looked at everyone. "I know that everyone that isn't a Scotsman thinks that a Kilt is a pretty funny garment for a man to wear but in Scotland it's very important. You can tell the clan that the man belongs to by the color and pattern of the Kilt. On the Brooch he carries the family coat of arms. So you see when you make fun of my Kilt you belittle my family and that family will soon be Kathleen's family also." Sean turned back to the boys. "Now what did you do with the shorts?" "It's in between the two mattresses." Mike said. "Okay you can get out now." Sean said. Mike and Nicky didn't move.

"When the girls leave we'll get out." Nicky said. Fred smiled and said "Let's go ladies." When everyone was gone Nicky and Mike came out and put their clothes on.

This was the last incident with the now famous Kilt. Next week involved the moving around of all of the furniture and the addition of several more long tables in the gym. Fred had engaged a caterer to supply most of the food except for the meat. For his sister's wedding Connor and Wesley went all out and ordered shrimp and lobster from Main and porter house steaks. Stacks of boxes of beer and wine were already in the basement. The wedding was to take place on Saturday so the steaks, shrimp and lobster were to be delivered on Saturday morning. David Morgan was going to be bringing several gallons of blood from his own herds of cattle and sheep.

Fr. Maxwell had been giving instructions to Sean so he could join the Catholic Church for some time now and he felt it was time for him to make the sacrament of 'The Rite of Reconciliation'. On the Monday before the wedding Fr. Maxwell called Sean. Fred had answered the phone and switched the call over to Sean in the clinic. "This is Sean." "Sean, this is Fr. Maxwell. I called to see if you wanted to make your first confession before you get married?" It was quiet on the other side of the line. "Sean, are you there?" "Yes I'm here. I was just thinking." "I promise that it won't hurt Sean." "I know, it's just that I'll have to relive all that I've done since I was turned." "Sean, I'll be there tomorrow night at 8 as usual. Let everyone know. After I hear everyone else's confession you and I can go up to 412 and you can make your confession. Or would you prefer to make it in the chapel?" "Yes I think I would prefer it in the chapel where I can focus on the picture of Christ welcoming the man into paradise." "Okay then Sean I'll see you tomorrow." Sean hung up then went over to the kitchen where he found Connie. "Connie when you see Spike would you let him know that I would like to see him." "He's already here. He came in about thirty minutes ago." "Thanks Connie." Sean went up to his room and called Spike and Buffy's room. "This is Spike." "Hey Spike this is Sean. Could you come up to my room?" "Sure Sean I'll be there in a few minutes."

For the next 3 hours Sean and Spike sat in his room talking about their experiences since they were turned. Sean asked Spike about his confession and how it went. When Spike finally went downstairs for Supper Sean stayed upstairs and searched his memory for all the sins against God and man that he had committed. At 1 A.M. he was still sitting in his room except he was sitting out on the balcony. He had dozed off for a few minutes when he felt a cool breeze come over the balcony. He saw something out of the corner of his eye and stared at the chair to his right. A soft white light appeared around the chair and a man appeared. He knew that this was Angel.

"Angel?" "Since it's been so long since you last saw me I thought maybe you had forgotten what I look like." "Not with all of the pictures of you around here in the hotel." Angel smiled. "I have come to help you get through your first confession Sean. I know how hard this has been on you. I have heard your thoughts as you travel through the many years since before and after you were turned. I know that this is hard for you to do, but we will sit here for as long as you need me to help you. I know that you have been learning how to pray the Rosary. I often found that I was able to handle things better when I prayed the Rosary first. Let's pray it together Sean and I promise that everything will be clearer to you." Sean went inside and brought the black silver Rosary that Kathleen had given him last Christmas. For the next 25 minutes they prayed the Rosary together then talked about their lives. As the sun started to rise Angel said goodbye to Sean and promised that he would be with him to the end of his days in this world. Sean went into the room then and carefully closed the doors and drapes so that no light could get in. He had a headache from thinking so much. He went in to take a shower then had a glass of blood before he crawled into bed.

Sean finally got up at noon and came down for Lunch. No one tried to engage him in a conversation. When he was done eating he tapped his glass with his spoon. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and looked at him. "Yesterday Fr. Maxwell called me and asked me if I wanted to make my first confession before my wedding. After thinking about it for a few minutes I said yes. He told me to tell everyone that he would be arriving at 8 tonight for anyone else that wanted to go to confession. After the last person comes out I will be going in and I would appreciate it if no one would bother us for the next several hours. If there is an emergency for anything other than Kathleen please go to Hunter or Spike if he is here." When Sean was done he got up and took his place setting into the kitchen without saying anything else.

No one bothered Sean for the rest of the day and no one saw him until 8 that night. As he promised at 8 o'clock Fr. Maxwell showed up and rang the bell that would let everyone know that he was ready to hear confessions. Everyone was taking the opportunity to go to confessions so they could receive communion at the wedding. Wesley had let Marrisa know that Fr. Maxwell would be hearing confession tonight so if they wanted to come over he would be here at 8. David, Marrisa and several of his guards came over. Even though there were so many people in the Hotel it was respectively quiet as everyone searched their minds for any sin they had committed.

The Hotel lobby wasn't cleared until almost 10 o'clock when Sean was finally able to go into the chapel. They were in the chapel until well after midnight. At 12:30 Fr. Maxwell finally left the chapel. He went over to the kitchen before he left and warmed up a glass of blood for himself then left. Sean stayed in the chapel for the next hour before he got up and turned the lights out and made sure that all of the doors were closed then he went to bed.

The next day Kathleen called Fr. Maxwell and asked if she could come over to make her confession. She explained to him why she hadn't seen him last night. "I understand Kathleen. I'll be here all day so just come over when you're ready." Kathleen was there by two in the afternoon. After Fr. Maxwell heard her confession he offered her something to drink. They sat for awhile. "How did Sean do Father? What I mean is, is he alright after making his first confession."  "Yes Kathleen he is okay. Sean is like your father. He takes his sins to heart and he suffers a lot knowing what he has done." Fr. Maxwell put his hand on her hand. "Kathleen you are going to be marrying a very good man. I can't tell you what we talked about and only he can tell you what his penance was. I know that St. Michael helps you a lot and you have your grandmother always with you. Make sure that he continues to learn about Jesus." Fr. Maxwell gave her a book that was the Diary of Sister Faustina. "As you can see this is the book that St. Faustina wrote of her conversations with Christ. She tells how Christ wants everyone to come to him so that he can give them his Divine Mercy. He tells us that even the most hardened criminal can find forgiveness for their sins if they only come to him. Keep this in the Chapel so that everyone can read it. I can't say for sure but I feel it in my heart that Sean and you will be together for many years and he will be in heaven with you." Kathleen hugged him and thanked him then she left to return to the Morgan's home.

Early Saturday morning at 7 a.m. Kathleen showed up at the back of the Hotel. Mike was standing guard and had taken the protective spell down when he saw her pull up to the back. Kathleen made a quick check of the Lobby and second floor. When she didn't sense anyone she ran up to the second floor and knocked on Willow and Tara's door lightly. "Aunt Willow, can I come in?" She whispered. Willow opened the door and Kathleen slipped in quickly.

It was a hectic morning for everyone. Everyone started showing up downstairs at 8 o'clock. They barely had time to have breakfast before the florists, caterers and decorators started showing up. Joaquin and Jr. had brought over a rented barbeque wagon so they could cook the steaks. Connor had driven a truck loaded with mesquite firewood for the barbeque. While all of this was going on Connie had brought up some breakfast for Kathleen. She didn't want it at first until she saw Connie standing over by the table with her hands on her hips. Reluctantly she ate the food. She was so afraid that she wouldn't be able to fit in the wedding dress because she had, had her last fitting on an empty stomach. While she was eating her eyes were constantly on her wedding dress. She had taken a lot of pictures of the portrait that her father had made of her mother in a wedding dress. Even though her mother's original wedding dress was a pale yellow Kathleen wanted it to be the color that her father had painted which was a pale blue.

The wedding was scheduled for 2 p.m. and Kathleen had three hours left to take a shower, have her hair and makeup done. The morning was so hectic that she relished the time that she spent in the quiet and solitude of the shower. She leaned against the shower wall and concentrated on finding Sean's mind. She found him in his room sitting quietly. She softly touched his mind that felt like a gentle kiss to Sean. He opened his mind to her and embraced her touch. "Soon my Beloved we will be together. Soon you will be mine and I will be yours and nothing can ever separate us again." Kathleen retrieved her mind and finished bathing. She wanted Sean more now than she ever had before and the best way to get to him was to quickly bathe and getting to 2 o'clock.

At 1:30 Willow and Fred helped Kathleen to put on her wedding dress. They helped her to step into the dress and then pull it up. It was done like this so that her hair wouldn't be touched. Like her mother's dress Kathleen's dress had a wide full skirt and was made out of white silk as was the strapless top. Unlike the coloring of her mother's dress though, Kathleen had ordered hers to be a soft green. Lace made up the shoulders and sleeves. The sleeves were full and formed tight cuffs at the wrists. Her veil was made up of a soft white net with traces of green in it. The veil and skirt formed a trail that extended five feet behind her.

While Kathleen was getting dressed Sean was in his room and getting dressed. When he was done he wanted to make sure that he was okay but had the problem of not being able to see his reflection. He called Spikes room to see if he was there. "Spike here." "Spike could you come over to my room and let me know if I look okay." "I'll be there in three minutes." In three minutes, just as he had promised, Spike was knocking at Sean's door. "Come in Spike." Spike opened the door and stopped in his tracks. He stared at Sean. Sean was dressed in the green and black checkered Kilt with slightly ruffled sleeves. The front of his shirt was also slightly ruffled. He wore a black jacket with gold buttons at the sleeves and three buttons holding the jacket together. Across his chest he wore a black and green sash with a brooch at the shoulder that bore his family crest. In the front and just below his waist he wore what is called a Sporran that hung from a silver chain. The Sporran was made of a soft, pure white lamb's wool with his family crest on it. The bottom of the Kilt came to just above the knee. He wore white knee length socks and black patent leather shoes. The whole outfit was crowned with a cap made mostly of black and once again the black and green checkered design surrounding the bottom of the cap.

"Spike, close your mouth and tell me if I look alright." "Let me get Bob, he's from Scotland also and he should be able to tell you if you have everything on okay." "No you can't he'll wonder why I don't check myself in the mirror. " "Well as far as I can tell everything looks okay." "I guess that will have to do then." They walked out of the door then and downstairs to the Lobby. When everyone saw Sean they all clapped as he walked to the makeshift Altar underneath the second story balcony. One of Fr. Maxwell's Jesuit brothers had come to perform the mass and ceremony and was waiting patiently with Fr. Maxwell by his side.

In Willow and Tara's room they were putting Kathleen's veil on her head. The final item was her bouquet that she would hold in her hands. A bouquet of white roses was sitting on the side but Fred had something else in mind. She brought the Martin family Bible over to Kathleen and opened it to a page that had a dried flower in it.

"Kathleen this flower came from your mothers wedding bouquet. I thought you might be able to make it grow and form into the same design of bouquet that your Mother had." Kathleen carefully picked up the dried petals and held it in her hand. She visualized her mother's bouquet and the dried petals lifted up into the air and swirled around. Each petal became a fresh white mum that then became tied together with white and soft green ribbons that then settled back into her hands. Fred came and smelled the flowers. The flowers had a beautiful fresh scent to them since they were made from real flowers.

"Okay Kathleen, are you ready to become Mrs. Sean McConnell?" "Since the day I first saw him Aunt Fred." Fred opened the door for Kathleen to walk out into the hallway where Connor waited for his sister. He thought she was so beautiful that he had tears threatening to fall. "Are you ready Kathleen?" In answer she stepped out into the hallway and reached for his arm. He held his right arm out to her and she put her arm through his. As they walked forward Willow and Tara straightened out the trail of the veil and dress. Fred was Kathleen's Maid of Honor and Willow, Tara and Lou were her Bridesmaids. When the piano player saw Fred at the top of the stairs he started the wedding march. Wesley was Sean's best man so he pulled at Sean's arm to lead him to the Altar. Sean had his eyes constantly on the top of the stairs.

The guests all turned to look at the top of the stairs. Kathleen and Connor slowly descended the stairs in time to the music. The soft green of her dress complemented the red color of her hair. When they reached the bottom of the stairs and Kathleen saw Sean resplendent in his Kilt she made Connor walk a little faster to the Alter. As she walked to the Alter she thought to herself 'Thank you Mama for telling me to make my dress a soft green'. She felt like a female peacock that was being shown up by a prancing male peacock, but she loved his outfit and she beamed with pride as she approached the Alter.

As they came to a stop in front of the Alter the priest asked "Who gives this woman in Holy Matrimony?" Connor said "I do." Then he placed Kathleen's hand in Sean's hand then stepped back and went to stand by Lou. The mass then continued and when it came time for the exchange of vows they repeated the same vows that Angel and Cordelia had said. When they placed a ring on each other's finger Sean turned to Wesley and Wesley gave him the sash with the McConnell family coat of arms on the brooch. Sean placed the sash under Kathleen's left arm and Fred came forward and helped him with placing it under Kathleen's veil and up to her right shoulder where she brought the two ends together with the clasp on the brooch.

"Now my Beloved you are part of me and The McConnell clan. As part of the Clan I or my kinsmen will defend you to the death." Sean kissed her hand then they turned back to the priest. He gave his final blessing on the couple then turned them to the guests and said "I give you Mr. and Mrs. Sean and Kathleen McConnell."

This time nothing was left to chance and if the guest did not have an invitation to the wedding then they were not allowed in. Kathleen scanned the line of people giving their congratulation. She sensed no hostility or ulterior motives.

Everyone was commenting on how beautiful the bride and groom looked. As usual several children tried to sneak a peek up Sean's Kilt. After the fifth child tried it Sean gave up and lifted his Kilt and showed everyone that he wore shorts underneath. Half way through the evening Sean went upstairs and changed into a more traditional tuxedo. "Why did you change?" Kathleen asked. "I felt like a trussed up pig ready to be displayed on the table. I'm more comfortable now though and now I am ready to have our first dance as Husband and Wife." He stood up and put out his hand to Kathleen. "Mrs. McConnell would you like to dance?" "Yes I would love to Mr. McConnell." She took his hand and they walked to the center of the gym. Everyone cleared a circle for them to dance. Fred had gone to the piano player and the singer they had hired for the wedding and asked them to play and sing Patsy Clines song True Love. It had been Angels and Cordelia's song that they danced to every evening on their Anniversary.

Sean held out his right hand and Kathleen placed her left hand in his and with her right arm she picked up the trail of her dress and veil and Sean started to twirl her around the floor. Everyone clapped at how expertly Sean danced with Kathleen. After awhile another tune was played and everyone joined in on the dance floor. Connor was the first to tap Sean on his shoulder. Connor took over then while Sean danced with Lou.

As the clock turned to eleven o'clock Wesley got everyone's attention by going to the bands microphone. "May I have everyone's attention please?" After everyone quieted down he said "We are going to close the celebration now with a last dance with the new couple. Everyone that wants to dance with Sean and Kathleen will pay for the privilege by pinning some money to their clothes. By doing this the couple will have a second gift from everyone that they will take on their honeymoon. Fred and I will start off the dance. The next persons to dance with the couple will get some pins from the bride and grooms table, come and tap us on our shoulders and pin money on their clothes then start to dance again. The song will be played three times in order to give everyone a chance to dance with the couple."

Wesley and Fred each took pins and pinned a hundred dollar bill on Sean's suit and Kathleen's dress then the music began. By 11:30 most of the people had left and Sean's suit and Kathleen's dress were covered in money. After taking all of the money off they counted up 6,000 dollars. After Kathleen took the opportunity to run to the bathroom she returned and sat down at one of the tables. She took Sean's hand in hers and said "Let's go and spend our first night as husband and wife." Sean could sense her extreme fatigue so he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the elevator. By the time he arrived at the door to what was now their room Kathleen was sound asleep in his arms. "It looks like our celebration will have to take place later tonight my Beloved." He didn't do anything but remove her shoes and place her on top of the quilt. He removed his own shoes and lay down beside her. He purposely left her with her wedding gown on because he knew she would feel uncomfortable and wake up later. He fell asleep also than because even vampires get tired after such a busy day.

A few hours later Sean was awakened by the sound of music playing. He looked to his left and found the space empty. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light he saw Kathleen over in the center of the room. He sat up on the side of the bed and took his tie off. The light Kathleen was under was a spot light. She had unscrewed the rest of the spot lights just enough so that they went out. Now that Sean was awake and watching her Kathleen stood up. First the veil came off and she carefully put it over the chair next to her. The sash that Sean had put on her came off next and was draped over the veil. She walked over to him in time with the music. She turned around and presented her back to him so he could undo the snap at the top of the dress then the zipper that held the dress on her. She then turned around and presented her wrists so that he could unbutton the cuffs. When she was done she slowly walked back to the spot light and slowly slipped out of the dress and let it gather around her legs for a moment. She held onto the back of one of the kitchen table chairs and stepped out of the dress then carefully draped it over the same chair with the veil. As the music played she did a little dance as though she was a stripper. Kathleen was the same size as her mother was when she got married so she was wearing her fancy corset.

Sean started to become very, very uncomfortable. He unbuttoned the top of his shirt and started to pull his shirt tail out of his pants.

All through her little dance she had her eye on Sean and saw that she was having the desired effect. At this point she thought he would explode if she wasn't careful. She stepped up the pace a little after she observed his current condition. Kathleen pulled one of the chairs from the kitchen table and put it in front of her. She placed her right foot on the seat of the chair and slowly unsnapped the clasps that held her nylons up. She didn't take it all the way down yet, she just proceeded to undo the other nylon then walked over to Sean. As she walked she did it swinging her hips seductively. First she put one foot on top of his leg and waited for him to take off her shoe and nylon. When he was done with one she put her other foot up on his leg.

By now Sean's hands were starting to shake. Kathleen then reached down and put his legs together and straddled his legs. She looked down at the hooks that kept the corset together then looked up and batted her eyelashes at him. Sean got the idea and started to unhook all 12 hooks although it took longer than it should have because his hands were shaking so bad. Kathleen was starting to feel sorry for him so she got up and slid the rest of her clothes off. She then started to concentrate on Sean and started with slipping his jacket off then his shirt and t-shirt. She ran her hands over his chest and down his stomach and reached for his belt and unbuckled it. Sean couldn't stand it anymore and he had his clothes off within the next 15 seconds. He picked his wife up and put her on the bed and literally got on top of her. Within another 10 minutes he was laying next to her trying to get his breathing under control.

"I'm sorry Kathleen but you had me at the breaking point already. You're a wicked woman my dear wife." "I just wanted to show you that I don't need witch craft to exercise power over you my dear husband. Are you ready to show me a good time now or are you getting to old to do it again so soon?" Before she even had a chance to take another breath he had started to make love to her. By the time they went to sleep they had, had sex several more times.

The next day at 9 o'clock the newlyweds made their way down to the kitchen. Everyone was still at the table. "Sit down Sean and Kathleen and I'll get your breakfast for you." Lou said as she told them what was on the side board. After she delivered their breakfast and Connie warmed up a mug of blood for Sean everyone let the couple eat in peace for a while.

"Why is everyone so quiet?" Kathleen asked. "We wanted to let you two eat and renew your strength, especially Sean." Connor said. "Oh, I wasn't the only one working last night. She can't give me the Vampire Special but she did just fine without it. All I can say is that Mick was very happy last night." Everyone started laughing at Sean's name for his penis. Sean turned 3 shades of red.

"Sean do you realize that you are turning red." Hunter asked. Sean felt his cheeks and he noticed a slight feeling of warmth. "I guess you're on your way to being human my dear." Kathleen said. She gave him a kiss. "I wonder if that's all I'm doing." "It usually starts with this Sean." Hunter said. "Yeah, Buffy gets a big kick out of making me turn beet red by embarrassing the hell out of me. That's all you get for now though Sean. Neither Angel, Hunter nor I had anything else start happening for a long time after. You get these gifts just a little at a time so that you can get used to them." Spike said.

"Here is another gift Sean." Hunter took off her ring and held it out for Sean. "This is just a loan now and not a permanent gift. Have fun on your Honeymoon." "Thank you Hunter. Are you sure that you won't need it?" "No I'll be okay. I've already told Cylindia that she has to bring any critical cases over here if something should happen during the day. We are caught up with all inoculations and we don't have any sick children right now." Sean gave her a kiss and put the ring on his little finger.

"Who is going to take us to the Airport this evening?" Kathleen asked. "Lou and I will be taking you." Connor said. "Okay little lady we still have some time to take a nap. I'm still tuckered out from yesterday and all of our activities last night." Sean took Kathleen's hand and pulled her up and they went to the stairs.

That evening at 7 they were on their way to the airport. They had supper together after checking their luggage in. Everything was taking place as scheduled. Connor and Lou handed over their copy to the gates of the home on Kauai. Kathleen had told Wesley to give the family that took care of their home in Kauai the next two weeks off so that they could be alone. At 9 o'clock Connor and Lou said goodbye to the newlyweds so that they could get in the security line.

This was the last time that they were seen for the next two weeks but no one knew that anything was wrong because they were supposed to be alone for those two weeks. The moment they arrived at the gates of the estate on Kauai both Sean and Kathleen felt a painful sting at the side of their neck and this was the last thing that they were conscious of until they awoke again in Los Angeles and the basement of Wolfram & Hart.

TBC……………………………….      


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sean woke up first. He found himself hanging from the ceiling in a steel prison. His first thoughts were for Kathleen. The day after their wedding when they had woke up Sean strengthened the link with Kathleen so that he could find her more easily and sense her wellness over long distances. Before he did this only Kathleen was able to communicate with him over long distances, he couldn't initiate the conversation himself. He felt her more than sensed her right now. He opened his mind to see if he could find her. After what seemed like forever he finally found her in the cell next door. 'Kathleen, are you alright?' 'No, they seem to have given me some kind of drug that makes me groggy. They have a tube going into my arm so they can give me drugs whenever they want. Someone is coming now. Wait a second.' Kathleen searched the mind of the technician. He was there to give her more drugs. As soon as he administered the drug he left and Kathleen started to lose consciousness again. 'They gave me more drugs and I'm getting sleepy.'

He lost her again.

Thirty minutes later Sean could hear noise out in the corridor. People were approaching the door with what sounded like a wheel chair. Within the next minute the door to Sean's cell opened and they wheeled in Kathleen. Her head hung to the side and he could barely hear her heart beat. "What have you done to her you monsters?" Sean shouted at them.

A short man in his mid 50's stepped forward. "Monsters, you call us monsters? I believe you are the Vampire here Dr. McConnell." The man slowly brought a pipe up to his mouth and took a few puffs. He slowly walked around the cell without saying anything. The man pushing Kathleen's wheel chair pushed it in a little further then pulled a chair over for the little man then stepped back as he sat down. The guards stepped outside and closed the door.

"I am Dr. Winters. I am an M.D. and I have a degree in psychology. I Dr. McConnell have figured out a way to control your wife." "What good is she to you all drugged up." "Ahh, Dr. McConnell that is why you are here. We are going to use you to control your wife. They are going to bring in a machine that will monitor certain areas of your wife's brain. When those areas of her brain that we have identified as being primary areas for her witch craft are active we will know that she is trying something that is contrary to our instructions. When that happens we will show her what will happen to you when she is a bad girl." "When could you possibly have had the chance to map her brain?" "We had control of one of her professors in school. When they went to the hospital to demonstrate how a cat scan worked the professor called on Kathleen to help in demonstrating the machine. Needless to say that's when we got everything we needed."

"You think you've thought of everything." "I don't think it Dr. McConnell, I know it. Even down to the fact that the technician has been hypnotized so that his mind is a blank other then what we want him to do and monitor. You see we have also figured out that she can't read a person's mind that has been hypnotized. When she tries to read their mind it will seem to be a blank. The young man we sent to kill her was a test subject. We didn't want to really kill her we just wanted to see if she could read his mind or sense him." "Why have you gone through all of this trouble when all you want to do is kill her?" "Oh we don't want to kill her we want her to do things for us." "What do you want her to do?" "As soon as she starts coming around you'll find out." Dr. Winters left then.

Two hours later Sean could hear Kathleen's heart rate start to increase. She opened her eyes slowly and tried to focus on her surroundings. She sensed Sean in front of her so she concentrated on him only. They had her arms strapped to the arms of the wheel chair so she couldn't reach up and rub her eyes. "Sean, are you alright?" "They've had me hanging from these chains for what seems like forever or 10 hours more or less." "It sounds like you've retained some of your humor. Do you have any idea what we are doing here?" "They haven't told me yet. All I know is that they want you to do something for them." Kathleen could sense the pain that Sean was experiencing in his arms. "I'm going to let you down a little Sean so that you can at least touch the floor." "I don't think you should do that Kathleen because they are monitoring you. They let me know that they can control you when you try using magic. Those sensors you have on your head are telling them when you try using any of your powers." "Let's see." Kathleen proceeded to break two of the links in each chain that was holding Sean up in the air. She quickly received a jolt of electricity for her efforts. She screamed as the electrical shock traveled up her arms. She called out to Connor and received another electrical shock.

It took her a good 10 minutes to recover from the shock. She heard the door open and saw a little man that she presumed was her tormentor. "Hello Mrs. McConnell, I'm Dr. Winter. Have we learned our lessons quiet thoroughly now?" Kathleen didn't say anything. "We've been monitoring your conversation so I know that your husband has told you a few things. Let's get down to the reason that you are here."

--

At the time that Kathleen called out to Connor he was upstairs and fixing one of the kid's shelves. Just as he was hammering a nail in he received Kathleen's call to him. The hammer landed on a nail but it wasn't the nail he was aiming for. He yelled so loud that Lou could hear him downstairs in the kitchen. She leapt up stairs to the children's floor and went running in to see what was wrong. What she saw was Connor sucking his thumb that seemed to be bleeding. "Connor I told you, you should let Joaquin do this. You're good at fighting demons but you're not a good fixit man." Lou looked at his thumb. "Oh my poor baby let's go down to the clinic, I saw Hunter in there with Cylindia." Connor followed his wife downstairs while cradling his hand which was throbbing.

"What happened?" Hunter asked as she got up from her desk. "I was fixing one of the shelves in Leilani's room and I hit the wrong nail." Hunter pulled the handkerchief that he had wrapped around the thumb. "How does it feel?" "It's throbbing." "You have blood collecting under the nail and I am going to have to draw some of it out. Do you want me to put you to sleep because it's going to hurt?" "No, I think I can take it. If my father could take having a spike driven through his hand I think I can take a tiny needle." Hunter just smiled and prepared to fix him up. When she stuck the nail into the now swollen thumb Connor let out a yell that brought everyone downstairs. By the time Wesley and Fred made it downstairs Cylindia was wrapping his thumb.

"What's wrong?" Wesley asked. "I had to take some blood out of our fearless leaders thumb after he smashed it with a hammer." Hunter said. Gabriel pushed her way through everyone's legs until she reached her Daddy. She was 3year old now. "Daddy hurt?" "I hit my thumb with a hammer, see." Connor held his hand out for his daughter to see. Lou picked her up so she could stand on the examination bed. Connor showed it to her. Gabriel kissed it gently then said "All better now Daddy?" "All better, thank you that was a good owie kiss. Why don't you go play now while I talk to Uncle Wesley?" Lou put her daughter back on the floor Gabriel pushed her way through all of the legs again and went looking for Penny, the Summers German Shepard.

"I had this accident Wesley because I heard Kathleen calling out to me. I think she is back in Los Angeles and I think Wolfram & Hart have her." Connor said. "I'll call the family that takes care of the place in Hawaii and ask them to check on them." Wesley left then to go to his office and call the Kianoa family.

--

"We want you to kill someone for us Mrs. McConnell and we want it to look like a suicide." Dr. Winters said as he pulled a chair over by the wheel chair and sat down.

"Why don't you do that yourself? I am sure that you have had a lot more experience at this then I have." "Oh we have Mrs. McConnell but the person we want killed is guarded quiet well and we have found it impossible to get to him. The person we want killed is someone that I believe you know and in fact is a friend of your family. The person we want you to kill is David Morgan of Morgan Enterprises." Kathleen looked at him in shock. "I will never do that." "Why not? He tortured your mother and father. He was responsible for your father being crucified and your mother raped. I would think that you would want to get back at him." "My father and mother forgave him for what he did. He has been a friend of the family ever since I can remember. My father is the one that arranged for him to be given his soul back."

Dr. Winter got up and went to the door, opened it and called for someone to come in. The technician that administered drugs to Kathleen came in pushing a cart before him. He pushed it next to Sean and proceeded to take the rest of his clothes off so that he was now completely naked.

"Do you see the instruments on this cart Mrs. McConnell?" Kathleen just stared at the cart. She recognized the scalpels but not the other one that looked like a cheese slicer.

"This instrument here that looks like a cheese slicer is a skin cutting instrument. It's used to slice skin off of a burn patient's back or buttocks so that it can be prepared to be placed over bad burns where the skin has been burned off." He stopped talking for awhile and gave the information he had just given her time to sink in. He turned to the technician and nodded for him to proceed as planned. Sean steeled himself for what was about to happen.

The technician picked up the skin grafting instrument and adjusted it so that it would take the thinnest slice of skin off from Sean's buttocks. He waited for Dr. Winter to give him the signal to continue. Dr. Winter nodded and the technician applied the skin grafting instrument to Sean's skin and began to slice a one inch section of skin off. Sean cried out in pain. Dr. Winter saw the look on Kathleen's face. She had tears coming out of her closed eyes. "You monster, leave him alone." Kathleen braced herself against the electric shock she knew was coming and called out to Connor again and let him know what was happening. She was rewarded with a more powerful electric shock. It was so powerful that she had lost consciousness and it took a good 15 minutes for her to come around again.

As Kathleen regained consciousness again Dr. Winter came and placed his chair in front of her. He relit his pipe and sat down and waited for her to become fully awake. "Why are you making this so hard on yourself my dear and on your husband? If you would just reach out and destroy David Morgan this would all be over and we wouldn't have to take any more skin off of Dr. McConnell." Kathleen just stared at him. "I see your going to be stubborn." Dr. Winter turned to the technician. "Take a good five inches off of his back." The technician applied the skin slicer and proceeded to do as instructed. Sean screamed in pain. Kathleen could see a small amount of blood trickling down to the floor but said nothing.

As Dr. Winter watched Kathleen he knew that she was just as stubborn as her father that he had read about. "Adjust the skin grafter to take a full slice of the skin along with the muscle and blood supply from his back. Pull him around so she can see what she is doing to him." When the technician started and Sean screamed Kathleen called out to Connor and told him that Morgan was the target and to make it look like he was being set on fire when she signaled to him. The technician monitoring Kathleen was busy watching Sean and didn't notice her using her powers. Kathleen yelled at the technician slicing Sean and made him come after Dr. Winter with the slicer. The guards monitoring things came in and stopped him just as he reached out to cut the skin on Dr. Winter's face. The technician monitoring Kathleen flipped the switch to electrocute her. She shook so bad that she bit her lip and almost bit her tongue. Dr. Winter signaled to stop the electricity. He checked her then went out and told the guard to get another technician, one that knew what he was doing because this one had almost killed the woman. Dr. Winter went back in and checked on Sean, who had passed out. He had to be careful as he walked to him because his blood was falling down his leg and pooling on the floor underneath him.

Sean wasn't unconscious though. As Dr. Winter reached up to listen for a heart beat Sean reached up with his legs and wrapped his legs around his neck and squeezed as tight as he could until he felt Dr. Winter go limp. He let him go and called out to Kathleen through the link they shared. He had to get her to respond because the guards would be back any second now. 'Kathleen, wake up. Kathleen.' She started to lift her head up and opened her eyes. "Kathleen, break the chain holding me." She looked up and focused in on the chains. Sean heard them break and he fell to the floor. The pain in his back almost made him pass out again. He kept it in his mind though that he had to get Kathleen to get up so they could get out of here. He forced himself to get up. He started to pull the electrodes off of her body and pulled her out of the wheelchair. He looked around for his pants and quickly pulled them on. He knew that his demon was working overtime to make him heal because if he was a normal human being he wouldn't have been able to move. Kathleen called out to Connor and told him to come out to the front of Wolfram & Hart with his van and just wait.

In Kathleen's mind she was thinking of the layout of the building and where all of the supporting columns were. As soon as they opened the door they ran into Dr. Winter and a guard. Kathleen sensed right away that the guard was a demon and she broke his neck with a single thought. Sean took care of Dr. Winter by throwing him into the room and strapped him down to the wheelchair that Kathleen had been in. He quickly put the electrodes on his body and left. He then stepped into the control booth and flipped the switch on to a low voltage then turned it on. As each group of guards was encountered Kathleen took care of most of them and Sean took care of the rest. As they walked through the halls she stopped and placed her hands on every column for a few seconds. They made their way to the back exit by the loading docks. All the time they had been running they saw Angel running in front of them and pointing the way out. As they made it to the outside Kathleen continued to stop at every column and place the beginning of cracks into each column. As they approached the main gates a large group of guards appeared. Kathleen could see Connors van out in the front. She put her hand on Sean's arm to make him stop. He turned when he saw the guards. Dr. Winters came out with more guards in back of him.

"Give up peacefully Mr. and Mrs. McConnell you can't possibly make it out of the gates." They all saw Kathleen looking around and even up in the sky. Connor jumped out of his van along with Wesley. Buffy pulled up in her van in back of Connor. Kathleen created a small tornado that is called a dust devil in California. Normally it doesn't do anything but blow around a lot of dirt so that it's difficult to see if you're standing in it. She broke the lock on the gates and they flew open. They started running through the gates when Dr. Winter gave the order to open fire. Before Kathleen could put up a shield around them she was hit several times and fell. Even though Sean was hit he picked her up in his arms and went running towards the van. Willow jumped out of Buffy's van and put a protective spell around them, so no more bullets could find their mark. Connor went to Sean and took his sister from his arms and Wesley helped Sean to get into the van. The tornado made it hard on the guards to see the escaped prisoners so they could continue.

As soon as Kathleen and Sean were in his van Connor jumped in and took off. He called out to Spike. "How is she doing Spike?" She's still alive but that's all I can say. The faster we get her back to the hotel the sooner I can check her out." Sean was holding onto Kathleen. His own blood was dripping down on her and mixing with her blood. Sean looked at Spike and weakly said "Tell him to hurry Spike, she's getting cold." Sean passed out then and fell backwards against the side of the van.

Twenty five minutes later Connor pulled into the carport in the back of the hotel. Hunter and the rest met them at the back. Connor quickly got out and opened the side of the van and picked up his sister. Sean had awakened again when they came to a stop at the back of the hotel. Spike helped him walk into the hotel and into the clinic. While Spike worked on stabilizing Kathleen Hunter quickly extracted the bullets from Sean's back. She did it without any anesthesia because Sean was needed to help with Kathleen.

Connor went to stand over by Fred's desk as soon as he placed his sister on the exam bed. His brothers came to stand by him as they watched Spike take care of her. When he started to take her clothes off he realized that her brothers were in the room. "Connor, why don't you Mike and Nicky go out into the lobby for now?" As soon as they left Spike took the rest of Kathleen's clothes off and prepared her for an X-ray so that they could see where all of the bullets were. By the time he was done Sean was able to stand on his own. He came over to the viewer and looked at the X-ray with Hunter and Spike.

"It looks like one went into her left ovary and another might have hit her spleen. I want to open her at the back first to take out the ones that are close to the back. Are her vitals okay?" Sean asked. "Yes, the bleeding has stopped and the wounds are starting to heal already so were going to have to hurry or you're going to have to cut her more than I'm sure you want to."

Three hours later they were done removing all of the bullets and making repairs to all of the affected organs. Fortunately, the bullet missed her ovary and fallopian tube. After they replaced the blood she had lost Connor carried her up to her own room where she could rest and wake up naturally. Sean removed his own clothes and got into bed beside his wife while Hunter sat with them the rest of the night and into the next day.

By 4 pm of the next day Kathleen was finally waking up. As soon as Sean heard her heart beating faster he came to her side. Connor, Wesley and Buffy had been sitting at the couch with him talking about what had happened since they left them at the airport. Everyone followed him over to the bed.

Kathleen opened her eyes when she sensed Sean's nearness to her. "It's about time you woke up. How are you feeling?" Sean asked. "Sore, how long have we been here?" "Almost two days, can you sit up?" In response Kathleen pushed herself up and against the headboard with a little assist from Sean. "Are you hungry?" "Yes but I'm more thirsty than anything else." Buffy went to the refrigerator and retrieved a bottle of water. She gave it to Sean who took the cap off than gave it to her. Kathleen drank the water until it was empty. She gave the empty bottle back to Sean then said "I need to go to the bathroom and I would like to take a shower before we start talking." Sean helped her to get up. She swayed a little but was quickly able to regain her equilibrium as he held on to her.

Before she went into the bathroom she stopped and told Connor "Call Willow, Tara and Grandpa Connor, I need to talk to all of them as soon as I come out." Sean took her into the shower then and they took a shower together. Kathleen was still sore so Sean had to help her so she didn't have to bend over. Although the incisions were healed over she apparently wasn't done healing inside. Twenty minutes later Sean came out to retrieve some clothes for both of them. Within a few minutes they both came out of the bathroom and came and sat on the couch. Buffy had made a sandwich for both of them along with a mug of blood for Sean. While they were eating their food Willow, Tara and Giles came in.

When they were done and Kathleen was resting against Sean Connor asked "Can you tell us your version of what happened now?" Kathleen proceeded to tell everyone what happened, as she saw it.

"Willow and Tara I asked that you join us because I have to tell you that I was able to set the destruction of Wolfram & Hart in motion. As we ran out my father was guiding us and pointing out to me which pillars had to have the spell cast on them. As we came out he continued to point out which supporting columns I had to touch. We have a big problem though; I only touched the ones that were in our path and on the west side of the building. The ones on the east side all have to be touched also and it has to be done soon or when the west side starts to collapse the east side will be able to hold up a lot of the building and we won't have the total collapse that we want."

Everyone was quite for awhile. "I understand that you have an idea of hypnotizing the three of you or just you so that their warlocks can't read your minds and be able to tell who you really are." Giles said. "Yes, I realized that I couldn't read the young man's mind that tried to kill me because he was hypnotized. That idea was reaffirmed by Dr. Winters when I couldn't read the mind of the technician that was taking care of me. He told me himself that everyone but himself was hypnotized so that I couldn't read their minds." "How did they keep you from performing magic?" Connor asked. Kathleen was reluctant to answer Connor's question because of his temper.

"Kathleen, answer me." Connor said once again. His voice went up an octave higher which was a clear signal that his blood pressure was also going up along with his boiling point which was quickly being reached.

"Dr. Winters said that one of my professors was being controlled by them. When we went to a hospital for a demonstration of an MRI I was purposely called on to lay on the table so they could map my brain. They used that information to see what part of my brain became active during those times I was using magic. Besides having me tied down to a wheelchair they also had sensors on my head to show them what parts of my brain was active at all times. When the part they believe controls my powers became active they would electrocute me. Each time that I talked to you would be just before they electrocuted me. By the fourth time they did it to me I was able to free Sean at the beginning. I seemed to be able to build up a tolerance to it each time they electrocuted me."

"Dr. Winters was the elderly gentleman that came running after you with more guards?" Connor asked. "Yes." Sean answered.

Wesley looked at Connor. "Connor, don't forget that he is human." Connor did his best to control his temper. His hands were literally shaking he was so angry. Kathleen put her hand on her brothers. His hand stopped shaking then and he was able to control his anger. "Don't risk the loss of heaven over such a man Connor." Kathleen said.

"To get back to what we were talking about Aunt Willow and Tara do you think you could take care of the supporting pillars on the outside of the building?" Kathleen asked. Willow looked at Tara and she answered with a yes. "Yes we can take care of it if some diversion is provided so we can take care of the pillars at the back." "I think we can come up with something." Connor said.

"When do we have to do this?" Tara asked. "I would like to do it within the next few days." Kathleen answered. "I think I need to rest another day and then I can start practicing changing our looks and Grandpa can practice hypnotizing me so that I can do what I have to do without anyone finding out who I really am." Kathleen got up then and Sean helped her back to their bed and tucked her in.

Giles came over to the bed. "You get all the rest you need Kathleen. Tomorrow after breakfast well try hypnotizing you. If I can't do it then I understand that Sean can do it, so rest my little girl." Giles got up and kissed her on her forehead then left with the rest so she could sleep. Sean lay down beside her for as long as it took for her to fall asleep again.

The next morning at 9 o'clock Kathleen and Sean came down for breakfast. Everyone else was already there and eating. "How are you doing this morning Mr. and Mrs. McConnell?" Connor asked. "We are doing much better, thank you. I think Sean needs some help though Aunt Hunter or Uncle Spike." "What's wrong?" Hunter asked. "When they were torturing me in order to get Kathleen to do what they wanted they used a skin grafting instrument that is used to slice off thin sheets of a person's skin so that it can be used to cover burned flesh where the skin has been completely burned away. The second time they did it to me they set it on its widest level and took about a 1 or 2 inch layer that went all the way down to muscle and blood supply. I thought it had healed okay but this morning when I woke up I felt the new skin tearing and I left a lot of blood on the sheet. Kathleen put a thick bandage on it until someone could take a look at it." "You want me to check it now or wait until you've eaten your breakfast?" Hunter asked. "I think I'm more hungry right now." Everyone left them alone then so they could finish their breakfast. As soon as Spike and Hunter saw that Sean was done they got up and went to the clinic along with him.

When Spike got a look at the wound he said "This is just like Angel was when he was crucified. They had sliced him up pretty good and his wounds were not being allowed to heal because they would heal so fast that they became attached to the sheets he was laying on. After more than a week of trying to get the wounds to heal Dr. Martin came up with the idea of placing a plastic sheet on the bed then putting moist towels on top of them then we put Angel on top of the moist towels. Normally you wouldn't do that but because of the way we heal so fast we had to do it like this. As soon as he formed a layer of skin over the wounds we removed the moist towels. I think we're going to have to do the same thing with you Sean." "That sounds like a good plan." Sean said. "Let's see the one on your buttocks." Spike said. Sean undid his pants and pulled them down enough for them to see the first wound. "This one is already healed over Sean." Hunter said. Sean pulled his pants back on while Spike gathered the bandages they would need for him.

While Sean was being taken cared of Kathleen, Connor, Wesley, Willow and Tara were up in 412 with Giles. Giles didn't have any problem with hypnotizing Kathleen. The problem they were having was what to do with her to test her to see if she could cast the spell on the steel beams in the building and yet keep the persona of a cleaning lady.

Connor came up with an idea. He signaled for the rest to come out with him to the hallway while Kathleen stayed in the room with the television turned on high. Connor whispered to the rest "Let's give her the idea that she works here as a cleaning lady and she has to clean the third floor and Nicky and Mikes bedrooms. While she is up there she has to look for any pornography using her magic and she can't let anyone see her do it and she can only speak Spanish so she has to take her orders or ask any questions of Connie." There were big smiles on everyone's face when he got through explaining what Kathleen should be told to do. "Okay you want to go and explain to Connie what we are going to do?" Wesley asked. "Okay." Connor left then to go and talk to Connie and Joaquin. Nicky and Mike were at the warehouse with Gunn's Kids so there wouldn't be a problem with their interference.

The rest went back into the room. Giles turned the television off and gave Kathleen her orders. He also gave her the order to change her appearance so that she looked like a woman in her 50's. He also told her that when she was done with the cleaning she was to come back to him in 412, give him any pornography she found then sit down on the couch.

"When I count to three Kathleen you will go to your room and put on your baggiest looking clothes, change into the older woman then go down to Connie to receive your instructions. Do you understand what I want you to do now Kathleen?" "Yes Grandpa." "Okay then 1…2…3." Giles snapped his fingers and Kathleen went to her room to change into one of Sean's T-Shirts, an old Flannel shirt she used to help paint and an old pair of pants and well worn running shoes. She then went down to Connie and asked her in Spanish what she wanted her to clean and if she was to change the beds.

When Connie and Joaquin saw her Connie almost fainted. Kathleen had made herself look like Grandma Lucinda as she had seen her in a picture that Connie kept on her dresser. When Connie was able to get control of herself she gave Kathleen her orders and took her upstairs to show her where the cleaning supplies were and the clean sheets and towels.

While Kathleen was cleaning the hallway Spike had come home from the hospital. Connor explained to him what they were doing and asked him if he could attempt to read her mind. He came back with a negative on his attempt. "I'm not very good at reading minds Connor so it would be best if both Hunter and Sean tried also." "Okay I'll get them." Connor called down to the clinic to see if they were in there. They both came up to the second floor and Connor explained what they were doing. Hunter and Sean both tried to read Kathleen's mind at the same time and found nothing but a woman listening to a CD with a CD player strapped to her waist and ear phones on as she sang along with the music.

Two hours later Kathleen was done and returned to 412 along with a stack of pornography magazines. Everyone came up when Giles called them. After everyone came in and either sat down or remained standing Giles proceeded to bring Kathleen out of the hypnotic state.

"Kathleen, I want you to return to your original features." Giles said in a low and calming tone. They watched as she returned to herself without any problem. It was a lot like watching them turn into wolves. Except with Kathleen her features would just shimmer and she would become whatever she wanted to where as the others would change one section at a time and you could actually see their features change from human to wolf. Wesley had often said that he hurt just watching them do it.

When Kathleen was done returning to her own features Giles brought her out of the hypnotic state she was in. "When I count to three you will once again become Mrs. Mary Kathleen McConnell and you will remember everything you did. 1…2…3." Kathleen blinked her eyes several times. "How do you feel?" Giles asked her. "Tired and dirty, how did I do?" "Excellent, it worked just like you thought. Spike, Hunter and Sean tried to read your mind but all they got was the mind of a cleaning woman that was listening to music while she worked and singing along in Spanish." "But did I do something with magic without anyone knowing?" "Yes, you retrieved these from Mike and Nicky's rooms." Connor said as he showed her the pornography magazines. Kathleen looked at the front of the magazines and her cheeks burned red. "What in heaven's name are they doing with this trash?" Hunter stepped forward and removed them from Kathleen's lap. "There is nothing wrong with them having these Kathleen it just shows that they are normal healthy human males and I don't want anyone teasing them about these because I know that the rest of you men have had a good look at these or something like them at one time or another." The men looked at each other and smiled. There were more than one or two red faces.

"What about the loud noise that magic makes?" Kathleen asked. "What you were doing was so minor that we didn't hear anything. Even when you said you were putting a crack in the steel beams of the Wolfram & Hart building we could hear something but it was more like hearing thunder off in the distance that ended quickly. But Tara and I could hear it frequently. We were going crazy trying to figure out where the noise was coming from until we heard what you had been doing." Willow said. "We were talking about how you could mask this small noise that it makes when you start the crack by coughing a lot or sneezing." Tara said. "You could cough as though you were suffering from Bronchitis. People that have Bronchitis cough real hard and are frequently noisy as they try to get the mucus up that is clogging their bronchial tubes." Sean said. "If anyone asks you about your coughing you could just tell them you have bronchitis and the dust is making you cough a lot but that you'll be okay." Spike said.

"Well I guess this little experiment turned out real well. Does anyone have a problem with us taking care of this on Friday night? Next week Monday is a holiday and we should have only a hand full of people to deal with." Everyone agreed that it would be a good time and they broke up the meeting and everyone went their own way.

"Let's go to bed Sean I am very tired." Sean picked her up and carried her to their room on the third floor. "When this is over I want to see if we can give Hawaii a try again. I still have three weeks before I have to start at the hospital." Sean didn't say anything he just helped Kathleen to the bathroom and set her down so she could take care of herself. "I am going to see if there is anything for us to eat then you are going to bed afterwards." He gave her a kiss then left to go to the kitchen. Connie was still in the there when he went in.

"Do you have anything to eat Connie? I think Kathleen needs some protein to help her heal." "Yes I have a couple of small steaks that I was defrosting for you and Dr. Summers. I can cook those up and a couple of baked potatoes with a small salad. How does that sound?" "That sounds perfect."

As soon as the food was done Sean took the food upstairs. When he entered the room he found Kathleen sleeping. He put the food on the kitchen table and went to wake his wife up. "Kathleen, wake up." He shook her gently. When she opened her eyes she smelled the air. "Mmmm, that smells good, what do we have?" Kathleen asked as she got up and put her robe on. "Steaks, baked potato and salad for my lady." They sat down and dug in and didn't say anything until they were at least half way through the steaks.

"How are you feeling, now that you have something in your stomach?" Kathleen sat back in her chair and finished chewing the steak she had in her mouth. "Better, I don't feel so tired now. I think when I was hypnotized I forgot that I have to eat regularly. When Grandpa hypnotizes me to go to Wolfram & Hart he will have to tell me to stop for lunch and have something to eat or to carry something with me to eat." "I'll remind him." Sean said as he took a long drink from his glass of blood.

When they were about done with their supper they heard a knock at the door. "Come in Nicky and Mike." Sean said. Nicky and Mike were now almost as tall as Sean and at least 175 pounds each. Both of them were going to be on the Varsity football team next school year.

"How are you doing?" Mike asked as he came and gave his sister a kiss on the cheek then backed up for Nicky to give her a kiss also. "A lot better than I was. A good steak dinner has set me back on course again. What have you boys been up to lately besides growing muscles?" Kathleen asked as she patted Mike on his shoulders. "Nothing much, we did notice though that you cleaned our rooms and changed our sheets." "Yes, Connor knew that I wouldn't normally do that so in order to test me to see if I could be hypnotized so that no one could read my mind to see if I was someone other than what I said. So Grandpa hypnotized me and told me to clean the hallway and your rooms and to look for any pornography that you might have. He told me that I couldn't let anyone know that I was looking for the pornography and I was to just give it to him when I was done." "Uh, did you find anything?" Nicky asked nervously. Sean saw how nervous they were so he thought he would step in and answer for Kathleen.

"Yes she did but then Hunter took them away from her when she saw the men laughing at what she found. She told everyone that there was nothing wrong with young men having those magazines because it just showed that they had healthy young minds and no one was to tease you about it or they would have to answer to her." Nicky and Mike gave out a sigh of relief. They looked at Kathleen then turned to Sean, "Can we talk to you in my room?" Nicky said. Sean got up and followed them to Nicky's room.

When they were safely in his room Mike asked Sean "Can you get the magazines back for us? If any of the men that know about it see us going to Aunt Hunter's room they'll know why we are going to see her." Just as they said this they heard a knock on the door. Mike opened the door. Sean and Nicky heard him say thank you then close the door. He came over to the kitchen table they had all been sitting at. "That was Aunt Hunter." He put the stack of magazines on the table. Sean picked up one of the magazines and pulled out the inside of one of the pages and looked at it lengthwise then gave out a low whistle. For the next two hours he talked to his two young brothers' in-law about women and sex.

At 12 midnight Sean finally made his way back to his own bedroom. He saw that all of the dishes were cleaned and stacked back on the tray from the downstairs kitchen. Kathleen was already in bed and sound asleep. Sean went into the bathroom and took a shower. When he came out he had his bathrobe on. He went to his nightstand and pulled out his rosary. One of the penances that he was given was to pray the rosary every day for the rest of his existence. He went out to the balcony and sat down on the couch and proceeded to perform his penance. After a few minutes he heard Kathleen come out, she was wrapped in a quilt. She sat down next to him and joined him in his prayers. When they were done Sean wrapped his arm around her and they sat for awhile and watched the planes coming and going. When he heard her heart slow down he picked her up and put her to bed then crawled in beside her.

The next morning was Thursday and Kathleen was feeling better. "Do you think I could get up and exercise today? I'm feeling so stiff from resting so much." "Yes but nothing too strenuous. I'll go with you to make sure you're not over doing it. I have no idea how fast you heal after major surgery so unless you want to postpone tomorrows mission you'll be a good girl and do exactly as I say, understand?" "Yes dear, yes my sweet baboo, yes my stud muffin, and yes my magnificent stallion." Kathleen said as she started kissing him repeatedly. Sean pushed her away "Not yet my dear, that kind of activities will have to wait until you exercise and we see how well you've healed. We wouldn't want to get to a particularly active moment and you double up in pain." Kathleen sat back on her heels and pushed her bottom lip out in a pout. She jumped up then and pulled Sean up. "Let's get ready then to go down to the gym." They quickly dressed in shorts and T-shirts and went downstairs to the gym.

After a good two hour workout they went upstairs to take a shower. By the time they made it back down stairs for breakfast everyone else was coming down also. Everyone said good morning as they entered the dining room. "How are you feeling this morning?" Spike asked. "A lot better, Sean and I even went to the gym to exercise for two hours." "So you're fit for the mission tomorrow?" Connor asked. "Yes sir, in fact I think I proved that I was fit for just about anything." Kathleen said as she looked straight at Sean. Sean leaned back in his chair and looked at Connor and winked at him while Kathleen was looking at her plate. "I don't know Kathleen that technician cut pretty deep into a very important muscle. It doesn't feel like it's completely healed yet. It may not heal completely until we get to Hawaii." Sean leaned forward and rubbed his back.

Kathleen put her fork down and turned to Sean. He broke out in a grin and leaned back and away from her. "I was only kidding Kathleen, honest I'm fine." As she leaned in closer to him without taking her eyes off of his Sean broke. He jumped up and ran into the clinic. Kathleen just smiled at everyone. "That was very good advice you gave me Aunt Buffy, thank you."

"What did you tell her?" Spike asked. "Sorry my dear but that is a secret between us women and actually it wasn't originally my idea. I received that particular bit of advice from Cordelia and now I am passing it on to the younger generation of women." Buffy got up from the table and gave Spike a kiss on the cheek. "I am going to be helping Connor with a client today so you can catch up on your sleep today." Connor and Buffy left together to go out to the back and to his van. Angus wanted to go but it was too hot for him to be in the van today so Connor gave him the order to stay.

Everyone left then to go to their individual jobs. Kathleen followed Hunter into the clinic where they knew Sean was hiding. "Get up on the exam table Sean so I can check your back." Hunter patted the exam bed as she entered the clinic. Sean pulled his shirt and T-shirt off and got up on the bed. Hunter probed his back with just her fingers. "You appear to be completely healed Sean. I don't think you'll have any problem exercising these very important muscles. You can put your shirt back on. I am going with Cylindia to check on one of the babies in her group of kids and I won't be back until late this afternoon." She was collecting some supplies to put in her medical bag to take with her. Before leaving she came over to Sean again. "Sean I need to ask you for a favor." "Sure, anything you need. Just remember that I am a married man now so certain things are out." Sean answered with a grin. Hunter just grinned at him and lightly slapped his face. "Funny boy; what I need for you to do is have a father son talk with Jeff about the birds and the bees. I heard you talking to Mike and Nicky and you did a pretty good job without embarrassing them or making them feel stupid." "Sure Hunter, no problem." "Thanks I'll owe you one. This type of thing is always accepted better when it comes from someone outside of the family." Hunter picked up her bag and left. Sean looked at Kathleen "I guess I have to practice being a father before we even have our own kids." Kathleen just put her arms around his waist and gave him a big kiss.

Kathleen went back to her bedroom to gather some clothes to clean. Since most of their underwear was in their suitcases in Hawaii they were running out of clean clothes fast. Sean went to see Wesley in his office. "Wesley I wanted to both tell and ask you something." Sean said as he took a seat in front of Wesley's desk. Wesley put his pen down and leaned back in his chair. "Would you like some tea?" Wesley asked as he poured himself more hot tea. "No thanks this won't take long. I wanted to tell you that I had a talk with Nicky and Mike about sex and all that it entails. Hunter asked me if I would talk to Jeff for her about such things so I thought I would ask you, if you haven't talked to David and Bobby about it, I could take care of them at the same time." "I think that would be a good idea. This type of thing is always accepted better when it comes from someone outside of the family. With your being a medical Doctor I think you'll have more to offer then just a talk about the birds and the bees as they say. Are you going to talk to Spike and Buffy about this also?" "Yes I might as well take care of all of them at the same time. Okay then I think I'll take care of it after we get back from Hawaii though." "You're still going?" "Yea, Kathleen said she wants to go since she has three weeks before she has to start at the hospital. I think she'll need the mind rest a lot and nothing but lying around and having sex all day will fit the bill." Both of the men laughed as Sean got up and left and went to talk to Spike and Buffy.

Sean knocked at Buffy's door. There was no answer so he went downstairs to see if they were in the gym. He found everyone playing in the pool and ganging up on Spike. Eddy and Billy, as their 2nd twin had chosen to be called, got out of the pool and took a moment to try to see where their father had gone Sean could see how much they had grown. They were as big as Nicky and Mike now and now towered over Spike and Buffy. When they spotted Spike over in the deep end of the pool they both jumped in after him. It took Spike a few minutes but since he didn't have to breathe as often as Eddy and Billy did he was able to get the better of them until Buffy and Joyce joined in. With their combined Slayer strength they were easily able to make him cry uncle. When Spike spotted Sean he pulled himself out of the water and grabbed a towel and sat down by him.

"Were you having fun?" Sean asked Spike. "Yes I sure was. It's a nice release from all of the tension at the hospital. What are you up to?" Sean explained to Spike about Hunters request and since he was going to be talking to the Price boys also he wanted to know if Spike would like him to talk to his boys also at the same time. "I think that would be a good idea. Every time I've broached the topic I could sense nervousness between them so I would always let it go. I think that they will take it better from you since you're not their parent. When are you going to talk to them?" "Not until I come back from Hawaii. Kathleen wants to give our Honeymoon another try since she doesn't have to start at the hospital for another three weeks." "Okay, I'll let Buffy know. The women handled the problem with Joyce a long time ago." Spike and Sean just sat and talked shop for awhile after that.

The rest of the day and evening went by without anyone talking about what Kathleen, Willow and Tara were going to be doing tomorrow night. That evening though Kathleen took over Wesley's turn at guarding the hotel. Joyce joined her and they talked through all of her shift. Kathleen had been nervous about the mission and talking to Joyce helped her to relieve the tension.

"Thank you for spending the time with me Joyce. Until now I hadn't realized how nervous I was about tomorrow night. I feel a lot better now though." "To be honest Kathleen my mother is the one that suggested that I come up here. She said that she knew from her own experience that she would often be nervous about an upcoming mission but since she was the leader she would usually hide it somehow." "Well I'm going to bed now that Nicky is up here." Kathleen hugged Joyce and said "Thank you." They went downstairs then to their own rooms. Kathleen found Sean still up and waiting for her. After she took a shower she crawled into bed beside him. Sean pulled her into his arms and she snuggled into the crook of his arm. "Are you nervous about tomorrow night?" "I was but not anymore. Joyce stayed with me throughout all of my watch and we talked. Before we left to come downstairs she confessed to me that her mother had suggested that she spend my watch with me so that I could talk. She said that her mother had told her that she would get real nervous just before a mission but she couldn't share it with anyone since she was the leader." "You have me from now on Kathleen. Don't ever be ashamed of being afraid. Even your father has told me that he would sometimes be afraid." "Daddy would be afraid?" "Yes, he said that he would often be afraid before a planned mission until your mother taught him to open up to her and that he never had to walk alone again." "I'm glad you told me that Sean. I think I'll sleep okay now. Good night." Sean gave her a kiss on her forehead and they went to sleep.

The next day Wesley met with everyone. "Connor, Giles and I have come up with a mission plan. I've contacted the cleaning service that takes care of the Wolfram & Hart building. The owner was homeless when he was young and obtained help from Gunn's group. Phoenix helped me in contacting him and I explained our problem. He has everything set up so that the woman that normally cleans the east side of the first floor of the building will be given three days off to spend with her family. When you are dropped off at the back of the building Kathleen your to go to the guard and give your name and the company that you work for. Here is a map of the first floor on the east side of the building. You should be almost done by 10:30 p.m. One of Phoenix's boys will drop you off and pick you up at the gate. He'll be a Spanish speaking boy that will address you as grandma. Giles will tell you all of this again when he hypnotizes you. At 10 o'clock Willow and Tara will start walking down the outside of the building. At 10:30 Phoenix will send a group of boys to act like they are going to attack the girls and pull them into their van so they can rape them. That will give them the chance to scream for help from the guards so that they can get on the inside of the gate to get to the supporting arches behind the gate. A police car will come up at the appropriate time to chase off the van and supposedly rescue the girls and take them home." Wesley waited to see if there were any questions.

"You certainly have been busy." Kathleen said. "We want this to go off without any problems Kathleen. We've waited many years for this to happen and we don't want anything to go wrong. Most important of all though is we don't want anything to happen to you. While you are inside of the building everyone will be waiting down the street to come to your aid if anything should happen. All we need for you to do is to contact either Sean or Connor to let them know that you're in trouble. Giles will remind you of this when he hypnotizes you. You will go to work at 5 this afternoon. Wolfram & Hart has informed the owner of the cleaning service that they are letting everyone go home at 3 today so they could all start their holiday weekend early."

Connor came over to his little sister and took her hands in his. "Be careful Kathleen. Nicky, Mike and I would be lost without you. Even though you are a pain in the behind sometimes we still love you, besides who would keep my head from swelling with pride if we lost you." Connor and Kathleen hugged each other then. Mike and Nicky came over and hugged her also.

"Try not to worry too much. Daddy will be with me through the whole thing. Don't forget that I am still his Princes."

Giles got up from where he was sitting. "Come to 412 at 3:30 Kathleen. Change into your work clothes and make yourself look older also before you come." Giles bent down and gave her a kiss on her forehead before leaving.

Kathleen didn't say anything but she was very nervous about the mission tonight so she spent the next 30 minutes in the Chapel. Sean sat with her and they prayed the Rosary together. When they left to go to their bedroom she felt more at ease and the nervousness had left her. It was 1 o'clock when they went up to their bedroom. Kathleen had stopped at the kitchen and made some sandwiches to take up to their room. After they ate they took a nap until 3 o'clock.

At 3:30 Kathleen and Sean were in room 412. Kathleen had borrowed some of Lucinda's old clothes to wear so she would look more of the part she wanted to play. When she changed this time she chose a look that wasn't exactly like Lucinda this time instead she chose a look that was more like Connie's grandmother. Connie had shown her an album of her family several months ago and Kathleen had noticed how Connie looked so much like her grandmother. When she changed her looks she made herself a little heavier then what Connie's grandmother looked. She thought it would fit the persona she was trying to achieve better.

Over the next 30 minutes Giles hypnotized her and gave her instructions as to what she was to do tonight. He told her that she had chronic bronchitis and she frequently had to stop and lean against the wall to cough because she would have fits of coughing that would weaken her and she would have to rest a few moments. While Giles was instructing Kathleen on what to do Sean wrote down on a piece of paper 'DON'T FORGET TO TELL HER TO EAT HER SANDWICH'. Giles read the message and included it in his instructions. When he was done Kathleen got up and went downstairs to Connie who gave her a large canvas purse to carry her sandwich in, a cell phone, a map of the east side of the building and various other products that a woman of Kathleen's supposed years would carry. Willow had made some fake identification papers also. They said goodbye and Kathleen walked out to the back where a young man by the name of Tony was waiting for her. "Are you ready to go to work Grandma?" Kathleen answered in Spanish and her grandson helped her into the van and they left. After they left the parking lot Connor and the rest left in two different vehicles and followed them to Wolfram & Hart. They parked a block down the street from the Wolfram & Hart building and spent the next five and a half hours in their vehicles. Right next to them was a small doughnut shop that they could buy coffee and doughnuts from and the women could go in to use their bathroom.

Connor and Sean spent most of their time keeping their minds open so they could hear Kathleen if she called out to them. Willow and Tara didn't join them until 9:30. At exactly 10 o'clock they climbed out of Buffy's van where they had been sitting and put a little alcohol on themselves so they would smell the part. They made their way over to the Wolfram & Hart building. They had brought a small bottle of whiskey with them and sat down at one of the planters that were in front of the buildings and they could easily be seen by the guards at the reception desk. Both Willow and Tara had dressed up in short leather skirts with white and blue silk blouses along with black 3 inch heels and small purses that they could hang on their shoulders. After putting on a show for the guards they got up and waved to them as they went to the east side of the building and started to perform the spell on each column. They continued to laugh and act as though they were drunk.

As they came to the end of the building a group of Phoenix's boys, riding in a truck, came down the street and making a lot of noise. When they spotted Willow and Tara several of them jumped out of the back and ran to them. Willow and Tara screamed and ran to the back gate calling for help. Several guards came to their assistance and chased the boys away as they brought the girls into the gated area. Fortunately the gate was right up against the back wall of the building. Willow and Tara each ran to a column and acted like they were scared as they cast the spell on the column. Willow ran to Tara then and they both acted as though they were trying to get further away from the gate by going to the 3rd and last column where Willow cast the spell. When the guards came to them they threw their arms around them as they cried. As planned, an L.A.P.D. car came up the street and chased after the truck. Fifteen minutes later they came back and told the guards that they had lost the truck in the back streets. As they talked to Willow and Tara they acted like they realized for the first time that they were drunk.

"Come on ladies we are going to take you someplace nice and cozy where you can sleep it off." One of the officers grabbed onto Willows arm and guided her to the police car. His partner guided Tara to sit next to her. They spent a few minutes talking to the guards then returned to their car and left.

"Good job ladies, they don't have a clue as to what you were really doing." The officer said as he drove them back to where the rest were parked. Everyone got out of their vehicles to talk to them to see if everything went off okay. "Are you two okay?" Buffy asked as she looked them over to make sure they were all right. "We will be expecting our tickets to the Academy awards any day now. I expect them to be free since we are up for awards." Tara and Willow laughed as they hugged each other. The officers talked to Connor for a moment then left.

By 10:40 they saw Tony's van heading back to the hotel. Everyone got in their vehicles and followed them back.

When they all went into the hotel they went to 412 where Giles had told Kathleen to go when she came back. Giles was in there with her when they arrived.

"Come in everyone I was just waiting for you to come back before I brought her out of the hypnosis." Everyone filed in and took seats were they could. When everyone was quiet again Giles started.

"Kathleen I want you to relax and change back to yourself again now." Kathleen closed her eyes and within a few minutes she started to shimmer and returned to her normal features. She looked very tired and had circles under her eyes. Everyone could see that she had been under a tremendous amount of stress. Since the clothes she was wearing were larger than the size that she normally wore it made her look very thin and malnourished.

"Kathleen I am going to count to three and you will wake up. You will remember everything you did since 4 o'clock this afternoon. 1,2,3 Wake up Kathleen." Kathleen blinked several times then reached for her grandfather and started crying. "Grandpa, I felt their evil dirty minds constantly touching and searching my mind, looking for something that would tell them who I really was. Daddy was with me all of the time but he couldn't make them stop. He said if he did anything then they would know who I really was." Giles held onto his granddaughter and rocked her back and forth. Kathleen pulled back from Giles and looked at him. "I did it though Grandpa, I did it and all those evil people that hurt my Daddy and Connor will be gone from Los Angeles. They will have to find some other hole to crawl into and operate from." She turned then and looked for Connor. She went to him and hugged him. Connor held onto her for a long time and when he let her go she went to Sean who picked her up in his arms. He turned and looked at the rest before going out of the door. "I am going to take her and put her to bed after she has had a bath and something to eat. All of your questions will have to wait until tomorrow morning." Sean left then and took her to their bedroom.

TBC……………………………………………………..


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

                No one said anything as Sean took Kathleen to their bedroom. Kathleen had been known as Angel's princes for more than 20 years but they all understood that she was now Dr. Sean McConnell's wife. She had fulfilled her primary mission in life and she was no longer Kathleen Martin but Mrs. Mary Kathleen McConnell. Her reason for living was now Sean McConnell and Angel Investigations.

            Kathleen opened her eyes to see Sean next to her. She looked at the clock on his side of the bed, it was 8 o'clock. She could hear her stomach rumbling.

            Sean kept his eyes closed but he had awakened at Kathleen's first movements. "Good morning Dr. McConnell." Kathleen could sense that he was awake. "Good morning Mrs. McConnell. How are you feeling this morning?" "I am feeling a lot better and very hungry. I am so hungry that I thought you must be able to hear my stomach growling." "What is it growling about?" "It's saying 'FEED ME, I'M HUNGRY'." "But we just fed it late last night." "I know but it is growling again." Kathleen jumped up and pulled the covers off of Sean. "Get up and get dressed or I'm going down without you." Sean just rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep. Kathleen had been standing in front of her dresser and putting her underclothes on when she turned to see if Sean was getting up. When she saw him still in the bed she grabbed the kitchen towel, twisted it up into a whip and wacked his behind with a crisp snap of the towel. THWACK! She got the reaction she wanted. Sean jumped up and yelled 'Owe'. "You little monster I'm going to get you for that." Kathleen let out a scream and ran for the bathroom but Sean caught her. He started kissing her but she pushed him away. "Get dressed; I'm too hungry for any activity." They both got dressed then and went downstairs where everyone else was gathered at the table.

            "Good morning everyone." Kathleen said as she made a beeline for the kitchen where she piled her plate with pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausages. She didn't even bother to get anything for Sean she just started shoveling the food into her mouth as she walked to the table and sat down. Everyone watched her. After Sean got some food for himself along with a mug of blood he sat down beside her. It suddenly dawned on him what the problem was.

            "Giles, I think you have to put her under hypnosis again and remove the command to eat frequently because she is too hungry for this to be normal for her." Kathleen looked up at Sean and put her fork down. "Oh Grandpa, that must be why I feel like I can't eat enough. Let's do it now before I eat so much that I blow up." "Let's go into the chapel where it is quiet." Giles said as he got up, took her hand and led her to the chapel. Sean followed them into the chapel and sat in the back while Giles lit a candle and proceeded to hypnotize his granddaughter again.

            When he was done Kathleen thanked him and gave him a kiss then went up to her room. Sean and Giles continued to sit in the Chapel. Sean finally spoke up. "You haven't been following your diet and taking your medication, have you Giles?" "No, how did you guess?" "You have an irregular heart beat and I believe your arteries are blocked again." Giles was quiet for awhile and Sean didn't say anything either.

            "I'm lonely Sean. I miss my Mary and I want to go and be with her." "Do you want to sign a DNR form?" "Yes." "Alright Giles I'll ask Spike to pick up some forms." "I don't want anyone else to know. Make sure that Spike understands this." "Okay Giles. I want you to do one thing for me though; I want you to talk to Father Maxwell." Giles was once again quiet for awhile. "Okay I'll do that tomorrow." Sean patted Giles shoulder then left. After Sean left Giles continued to sit in the Chapel. If you had been by the door you would have heard Giles talking to his Mary.

            The rest of the day was quiet. Kathleen was taking a nap with Sean all afternoon. At 3 o'clock she sat up and called Connor. "Connor this is Kathleen." "What's up?" "Let's go up into the San Gabriel mountains tonight for a run as wolves. I need to run off all of those calories I consumed this morning." "I'll call you back in a minute after I talk to Lou." In a few minutes Connor called her back. "Lou said okay." "Why don't we take some food up there and have a picnic." "Okay we can leave at 6 tonight and pick up some food on the way up there. Let's call everyone down and see if they want to go with us. Spike is off tonight so the Summers' family will probably go also. I'll see you downstairs in a minute."

            Everyone wanted to go, including Connie and Joaquin. At 6 everyone piled into the vehicles and went to the San Gabriel Mountains. Connor took them to the same spot that the men had gone to years before. The pool was still there and the night was warm. Everyone had brought swimsuits in anticipation of going swimming after their run. On the way up they stopped at a barbeque restaurant to order a load of barbeque ribs, chicken, Cole slaw and buns. Connie had packed a large ice chest with cokes, water and blood for Sean, Spike and Hunter.

            As soon as they arrived they gathered enough wood for the fire to last way into the night. Wesley gave the okay when he thought they had enough. Those that could change into wolves changed as soon as they could. Connor's daughter Gabby wanted to go also but she didn't know how to change into a wolf and her mother and father were happy to see that. They laughed when she screwed up her face and strained to change. She looked like she was constipated. "You stay here with Grandpa my little princes." Connor said before he changed. "But Daddy I want to go too." "Not yet my little one you are still too small and might get hurt. When I think you're ready Daddy will teach you how to change into a wolf but for now you just stay with Grandpa Okay?" She pushed her bottom lip out and said "Okay."

            "Why don't you come over here and help your Grandpa and me tend to the fire?" Wesley said. Gabby was normally a happy, good natured little girl so she quickly got over her disappointment at not being able to go with the rest. Wesley and Giles kept her away from the fire and only let her get close if one of them was holding onto one of her hands. Fred and the other women were helping to put all of the food in aluminum foil so it could be kept close to the fire and warm.

            After two hours they all came back. Buffy had all of the women's swimsuits so that they could go behind some bushes and change back into human form and put their swimsuits on. The men did the same but had picked up their own swimsuits. As soon as they were changed everyone ran into the pool. Buffy gave them all soap and shampoo to clean up with. All of the boys joined in to bathe Angus and Penny with the Joy dish soap Fred gave them. When they were done they all came out and had their supper. After the long run everyone was hungry. Hunter, Spike and Sean drank a cup of blood first before they even started eating. By the time they were all done they had to jump into the pool again to wash off all of the barbeque sauce. They sat around the fire afterwards just roasting marshmallows and talking about past deeds. Hunter, Spike, Buffy, Wesley and Fred all talked about their shared missions with Angel. All of the younger members of the team listened carefully to all of what was quickly becoming tales that would be passed on to the next generation after them. Sean was listening as well since he hadn't known Angel that long before he died.

            "It seems that Angel deserves all of everyone's admiration. I hope that I can measure up, at least half way, to your memories of your father." Sean said as he looked at Kathleen. "Don't worry Sean I never put you beside my father to see if you can measure up to him. You are two entirely different people. Mama always said that Daddy was the best lover in the world as far as she was concerned and as far as I am concerned you are the best lover in the world. I thank God every day that He chose you for me." Kathleen reached over and gave her husband a kiss.

            Giles got up and said "I think it's time for us to go home now. This old man and the youngest one of our group need to get to bed." "Yeah I think it's time also. Kathleen and Sean have their flight that they have to get ready for again tomorrow." Wesley said as he started to get a bucket of water to put on the fire while the others threw dirt on it. When they were positive that the fire was out they all started back to the vehicles and loaded up to return home. Those that weren't driving had all fallen asleep by the time they reached the hotel. The men carried their wives in while Nicky carried Gabby in and to her own room.

            "Thanks Nicky." Connor said when he saw him taking Gabby to her room. "No problem, good night." Nicky said as he went up to the third floor.

            The next day was Sunday and everyone barely made it to church on time. They had been so tired from the previous evening's activities that they had slept late. They were all hungry so they went out for lunch at their favorite restaurant. By 6 that evening Kathleen and Sean were on their way to the airport with Connor and Lou. Until the time that they got on the plane Kathleen searched the mind of everyone around her as she looked for someone that wanted to do them harm. Sean didn't try to engage her in conversation because he knew what she was doing. Once they were on the plane she relaxed and enjoyed the flight. When they landed she again was quiet while she searched everyone's mind again. She didn't relax again until they were at the estate and she felt safe in letting her guard down. As they approached the gate to the estate Sean stopped the car they had rented. Kathleen searched for the presence of anyone within a mile parameter. When she felt it was safe Sean got out and opened the gate while Kathleen drove the car through. Sean was also searching his surroundings. He quickly closed and locked the gate then got back into the car.

            During the next two weeks Sean and Kathleen spent their days and nights sleeping, making love and playing on the beach and in the pool. Except for Sunday when they went to church and a Luau the evening that they reached the estate was the last time they wore clothes. They were alone on the estate and they used that seclusion to their advantage. The only time they put on anything is when their supply of food was brought every three days. Mr. Kianoa would call and let them know when he would be at the gate. Sean and Kathleen would then both drive to the gate, receive the boxes and one ice chest that contained blood and any other items that had to be kept cold then gave him the empty one. Even through all of the extreme measures that they took they still were able to have a relaxing honeymoon.

            Two weeks after they had left they returned to find that Giles was in the hospital to undergo tests and possibly surgery for another bypass. Wesley and Fred had picked them up at the airport and were taking them to the hospital. "What happened to change Giles mind about not going to his doctor or follow his instructions?" Sean asked. "He told me that after you left him in the chapel Dr. Martin came to him and scolded him for trying to more or less commit suicide. She told him that it would be a long time before they could be together if he continued disobeying his doctor's orders. She told him to get his butt in gear and make an appointment with his doctor. Apparently it was just in time because when he went to see his doctor on Friday he put him in the hospital that very night. I told his doctor that you were due back tonight and you might want to take care of Giles yourself." Wesley said. "Thanks Wesley, I would like to take care of him."

            As soon as they arrived at the hospital Wesley dropped off Kathleen, Fred and Sean at the front then went to park the van. It was late at night but since Sean was there to see his patient they were given his location. As soon as Wesley joined them they all went to the floor Giles was on. Wesley, Fred and Kathleen went into the waiting room while Sean went to the nurse's desk to check with them on how Giles was doing and get his chart. "Hi I am Dr. Sean McConnell and I'm here to check on Mr. Rupert Giles." "Yes Dr. McConnell I remember you. Mr. Giles is resting comfortably right now after a battery of tests his Doctor ordered. Dr. Fernando has already scheduled a bypass surgery for Mr. Giles tomorrow at 8 a.m. He has your name down as the surgeon. Dr. McKinley will be assisting you along with Dr. Summers, a resident who is assisting in surgery this month. Here are his latest X-rays and his chart." Sean thanked the nurse then went over to the rest.

            "How is he doing?" Wesley asked. Sean sat down with the rest while he read the results of all of the tests. "Dr. Fernando put him through a battery of tests and has come to the same conclusion I did. Giles has two blocked arteries and Dr. Fernando has already scheduled him for surgery tomorrow at 8 o'clock in the morning. Let's go over here to the X-ray viewers." Everyone followed him over so they could see the X-rays.

            Sean pointed out the blocked arteries to everyone. "They're not completely blocked but enough to restrict blood flow to the heart muscle and cause an irregular heartbeat. Tomorrow morning we will either take two arteries from his leg or use a donor artery and use them to replace the blocked arteries. Here are the 3 arteries that I replaced before. They look like they are still doing just fine." Sean pulled the X-rays down and replaced them in the envelope. "Nurse McConnell, would you please take this back to the Nurse's station? I am going to go and see Giles now. He most likely is sleeping so I am going to ask you to wait for me out in the waiting room." Sean smiled at Kathleen as he gave her the envelope. Kathleen just smiled at him and returned to the nurse's station while Sean went over to Giles room.

            As he thought Giles was sleeping peacefully. Sean watched the monitors for a few minutes then left to join the rest. It was now midnight and he wanted to try and get at least a few hours of sleep before he had to come back. They reached the hotel just 30 minutes later since there wasn't any traffic to deal with at this time of the night.

            As Sean and Kathleen lay in bed they talked about the surgery. "Would you like to come and watch?" "Oh yes, can I?" "Sure, don't you know that the lead surgeon is king and I can do whatever I want to?" Sean raised himself on his arm and looked at Kathleen. "Kathleen I want you to promise me that you will never use your magic while you are at the hospital. You will see things that will make you want to but you must never use it in the hospital." Kathleen just looked at him for awhile then said "I promise Sean that I will let nature take its course and never interfere with magic." Sean gave her a kiss then pulled her into his arms.

            The next morning they were up at 5:30 and taking a shower together. Sean reached out with his mind to see if Spike was up also. He heard him in the shower also. By 6 they were all on their way to the hospital. Kathleen was driving one of the vans so that the two doctors could sit in the back while they talked about the surgery and drink a large mug of blood. She dropped them both off at the emergency entrance where it was covered. Both men ran into the hospital while Kathleen parked the van. By the time she got in they were gone. Since the surgery wouldn't start for another 90 minutes she thought she would get some breakfast.

            By 8:45 she made her way to the observation seats above surgery. Giles was already on the surgical table and the anesthesiologist was already proceeding to put him under. The surgical nurses were preparing his chest to be cut open while others were preparing to take two arteries from his leg. Kathleen watched as Sean stood over Spike and watched him taking out an artery from Giles leg. He checked the artery to make sure that it was suitable to use as a replacement for the ones he was going to remove. Once he found it acceptable he started cutting in on Giles. The surgery took several hours before they were finally able to close him. They left that part to the resident.

            As the doctors left to clean up Sean asked Dr. McKinley "How is Dr. Summers doing in his rotation of Surgery?" "Excellent, all of the surgeons like having him assist them in fact they often request him when they have something difficult scheduled. He has told us that he used to assist a Dr. Mary Martin as she took care of a certain client all of the time and that is where he picked up so much experience." "Yes I've heard the same thing. We live together at an old hotel that has been redesigned into private apartments. Although we live together and have interacted socially we've never worked together. It was a shock to us when we met that we both have the same problem with exposure to the sun. The patient lives in the same hotel and is my wife's grandfather." Dr. McKinley was done dressing and shook Sean's hand then left. Sean left shortly after him.

            Sean went to check on how Giles was doing. He found both Kathleen and Spike in the room with him. "How's he doing?" "He's sleeping peacefully right now. His blood pressure and respiration are doing okay and his heart sounds good. I was just going to go and clean up. I told Buffy she could come and see him later tonight. I'll see you tonight." Spike started to leave when Sean called out to him. "I wanted to thank you for your assistance; you did a good job today. From what Dr. McKinley tells me you'll make a fine surgeon within a short amount of time." Spike and Sean shook hands then Spike left.

            Sean and Kathleen left then. Spike was working all day at the hospital and wouldn't be returning home until that night when Buffy came to visit with Giles. As they drove home Kathleen broke the silence. "Grandma told me that Uncle Spike will do very well as a surgeon but he will also follow in Dr. Thompson's footsteps and become an OB-GYN. It's going to hit him very hard though when Aunt Buffy dies and he is going to need his children around him to keep him from committing suicide or something stupid like that. We'll have to watch him closely for the first week after her death." "Will she die soon?" Sean asked. Kathleen looked at Sean and simply said "Yes, exactly when though she couldn't say because no one knows when someone will die but our Father in heaven." They were silent the rest of the ride home, each deep in their own thoughts. When they returned home Sean reported on Giles but also told everyone that he didn't want him to have any visitors until later in the day tomorrow.

            Later that evening Buffy left to go to the hospital. Spike was waiting for her in Giles room when she arrived. He had been sleeping when she came in and was supporting his head with his hand. She went to the side of the bed and gave Giles a kiss on his cheek. He opened his eyes. "Good evening." Buffy said as she took his hand in hers. "Is it night time already?" "Yes, in fact it's 7 o'clock. How are you feeling?" "My chest is sore. It feels like Sean was using it as a drum." Spike had awakened and was standing on the other side of the bed. He checked Giles vitals and looked at his chart for the last time they had given Giles anything for the pain.

            "They gave you something for the pain just an hour ago. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest where would your pain be?" "About a 4 it's not really that bad it's just sore." "Well that's to be expected. After all you did just have your chest and ribs open." Spike said. "Tomorrow morning if you're doing ok we are going to get you up and have you walk to the nurse's station and back, okay?" "I know that I have no choice in the matter so I don't know why you're asking me." "Well maybe I can get Eddy and Bill to come over and help you tomorrow morning." Giles could barely keep his eyes open now. "I'll see you tomorrow Daddy. Get a good night's sleep so you can be well rested for tomorrow." Buffy reached over and kissed him on the cheek again then both Spike and her left.

            "How is he doing Spike?" "He's doing very well. It's a little harder on him this time because he is older but he's doing okay." Buffy and Spike left to return home. It was late and Spike was tired also. He didn't realize it at the time but he was more tired than he normally would be since he was a Vampire. Spike was starting to become more human but in such small increments that he didn't notice the change.

            The next morning at the breakfast table Spike told Eddy and Bill to go with their mother and Joyce to visit their grandfather so they could help him walk to the nurse's station and back to his bed. "You're not going with us?" Joyce asked. "No, not today I'm off Sean is going over to check on him later today. If he continues to improve, Dr. Fernando will probably release him in two days since he has so many medical people at home." "When can the rest of us go and see him?" Wesley asked. "Why don't the rest of you wait to visit him until tonight? He'll have a chance to rest from this morning and tonight two of you can help him take a walk a little further." Buffy and her children finished their breakfast then left for the hospital.

            Later in the afternoon Sean and Kathleen went to the hospital so she could fill out all of the paper work so she could start working at the hospital next week. She was going to meet her supervisor and be shown around the hospital and given her schedule for the first 3 months. While she was busy with that Sean talked to Dr. Fernando and visited Giles.

            "How are you doing today?" Sean asked Giles. "A lot better than I did yesterday. I saw you talking to Dr. Fernando. When is he going to let me go home?" "He said tomorrow morning. He said normally he wouldn't let a patient that has gone through what you have for at least two more days but since the hotel is overflowing with medical people he felt safe in letting you go." The news put a smile on Giles face. "Tonight I am going to ask Connor and Wesley to come and help you walk around a little. I'll see you tomorrow when you come home Giles. Get some rest now." Giles said goodbye and Sean left. He went down to the emergency room where Kathleen said she was going to be starting and he would most likely find her there.

            The waiting room was loaded with people. Most of them seemed to be minor problems. Since a lot of people didn't have insurance they used the emergency room doctors as their regular doctors. After looking over the crowd Sean went up to the nurse's station and offered his assistance. They gratefully accepted his help. The resident in charge asked him to help clear the waiting room and gave him a white coat along with a stethoscope and pens.

            What was supposed to be only an hour or two turned out to be 5 hours before he was able to get away. The resident and nurses thanked him as he returned his coat to them.

            "Let's get out of here before the next wave of people come in." Sean said as they practically ran out of the door. As they left they saw Connor and Wesley coming in to visit with Giles. They waved as they passed each other.

            The next day Cylindia took some of her things up to Giles room. She would be spending the next few nights with him and just sleeping on the couch. Buffy, Eddy and Bill went to the hospital to pick up Giles at 10 o'clock. Spike was working today so he was there to help them with the patriarch of the family. It took Giles a while to get into the van but he finally made it. Buffy was going to be driving while Giles was in the passenger seat next to her and Eddy and Bill were in the middle seats. Spike gave Buffy a kiss goodbye then she got in the van and left for the hotel while Spike went back into the hospital. He had to hurry to go back upstairs to surgery since he was scheduled to assist with 2 surgeries today.

            He was in the middle of scrubbing for surgery when a nurse came in and talked to the head surgeon. Dr. Crandall came over to Spike. "Spike there has been a bad accident on the freeway. They're bringing in your wife and sons. Your father in-law was killed in the accident."

            Spike just looked at Dr. Crandall. "Uh, if you don't mind I have to go down to the emergency room. Would you do me a favor please and call Dr. McConnell and let him know?" "Yes we'll take care of it." Spike felt like he was in a fog. He couldn't think clearly. While he rinsed his hands he called out to Buffy through the link they shared. Over the years they were able to develop a connection that let him call out to her even though she couldn't talk to him as Angel and Cordelia had been able to do. He was usually able to sense her wellness. He called out to his sons and heard only one of them answer. Eddy answered back but Bill didn't. Eddy told him that they were being taken into the emergency room.

            Spike ran down the stairs to the first floor emergency room. He saw Eddy sitting up on the gurney and being taken into one of the rooms. Bill seemed to be unconscious and was taken to another room. He walked over to the area where he saw the most activity. He could see that they had Buffy on a respirator that was forcing air into her lungs. He saw the doctor in charge look up and signal to him to come in.

            Spike didn't say anything he just listened to the doctor tell him what was going on. His mind was in a fog though and he only heard part of what he said. "The respirator is the only thing that is keeping her alive right now Dr. Summers. She can't talk to you because she is intubated but she can hear you. Her injuries are severe and inoperable and if you remove the tube she will be able to talk to you but will most likely expire within a few minutes." "I want everyone to leave right now. When my daughter arrives show her in immediately so she can say goodbye to her mother.  Would you check on my sons for me and let me know how they are?" "Yes." Dr. Candell left and went to check on the boys. Spike approached the bed slowly. He bent over the bed and ran his hand over Buffy's head gently. She opened her eyes and looked at him and started crying. She wanted to talk to him but she couldn't.

            "Buffy the tube going down your throat is helping you to breath. There is a good chance that when I remove it you will die. Do you remember the accident?" She nodded her head.

            Dr. Candell came back in and waited for Spike to stand up. "Are my sons alright?" "Eddy is doing okay he only suffered a broken arm. He wants to come in and see his mother." "Let him come in the same time my daughter does because I am going to remove the tubes so she can talk to us. What about my other son Bill?" "Bill was unconscious when he came in but is awake now. From all that we can tell he is alright. Do you want us to bring him in also along with his brother and sister?" "Yes please." Spike saw Sean and Kathleen come in." "Would you please let Dr. McConnell know what is going on? There will be a lot more people coming in, in a few minutes." Spike turned back to Buffy then.

            Spike bent down close to Buffy so she could hear him. "The boys are alright Buffy but Giles died in the accident." She nodded again. She reached up for his hand. Spike saw it and took her hand in both of his. He kissed her hand. She reached up for his face and brushed away the blood red tears.

            "I am going to miss you my Beloved. Giles has told me that Mary comes and visits him all of the time. Will you come and visit me?" She nodded again. Spike heard the doors to the room open. It was Joyce, Bill and Eddy. Spike motioned for them to come over to the bed.

            "Your mother can't talk to you right now because of the tube going down her throat. The tubes are helping her to breath. When I remove it she will be able to talk but she will stop breathing after only a few minutes. Do you understand?" "Yes, this is the last time that we will be able to talk to Momma." Joyce said. Spike nodded to his children then turned back to Buffy and began removing the tube. She started choking then coughed several times as the tube came out. She looked at her children. "Take care of your Daddy for me Joyce; he is going to need you and your brothers. Remind him that he won't be able to join me in heaven unless he is a good man and follows Gods laws. You are the Slayer now and it's up to you to take care of everyone. I will be with you as much as I can. Let me talk to your brothers now." Joyce bent over her mother and kissed and hugged her then stepped back. Bill and Eddy came and stood on either side of the bed. "Eddy you are so much like your Father. Try not to follow too closely in his footsteps. Bill, help Connor to take care of everyone. I want you to go to school like Connor did Eddy. Learn as much as you can so that you can work with him and the rest. Give me a kiss and hug now then leave so that I can have a minute with your Father." The boys did as she said then they left. Father Maxwell came in and prepared to give Buffy the last rites of the Catholic Church. All through this Spike held on to Buffy's hand. Half way through it the monitor bell went off to show that she had stopped breathing and her heart had stopped beating. Spike reached over and turned all of the monitors off. When Fr. Maxwell left Spike got up on the bed and lay down beside Buffy and held her in his arms.

            In the waiting room Wesley held onto Joyce as she cried. The boys shed silent tears as they sat in the corner of the room. After thirty minutes Joyce got up from the couch where she had been sitting with Wesley and Fred. She got up and went to the doors of the room where her mother lay in her father's arms. Joyce went over to Sean and Kathleen. "I think it's time to get my father now." Sean and Joyce went in together and approached the bed.

            "Daddy, it's time to go now." Spike looked at his daughter. He looked back at Buffy then and gave her a last kiss. He got up from the bed and went outside. His children gathered around him and they all received hugs and kisses from him. Joyce reached up with a Kleenex and wiped his blood red tears away. She took his hand then and they walked outside. It was dark now so there was no danger of him going into the sunlight. Tomorrow he would have to be watched. Wesley pulled up his van and the Summers' family got in along with Fred. Connor pulled up also and the rest got in his van. Fr. Maxwell had already left and Sean and Kathleen had her car.   

            Spike didn't say anything to anyone when they got home. He went up to his bedroom alone. Connie laid out everything that they could possibly want to make a sandwich. Everyone made sandwiches for themselves and went to their rooms. Lou checked on Gabby and Daniel. They had both stayed home with Connie and Joaquin. She explained to them what had happened to their Aunt Buffy and Grandpa. They were old enough to understand what death was so they cried for awhile then went to sleep.

            The hotel was quiet. Everyone had gone to bed early. They were all emotionally drained. At 5:30 in the morning everyone was awakened by Spike yelling at the top of his lungs. Sean reached his room first and told everyone that he would take care of him so they all went to bed.

            Sean opened the door and went in. The room was dark but he could hear Spike over by the bed. He was on the floor and crying. Sean went to him and got on the floor and pulled him into his arms. Spike put his arms around his waist and cried great soul wrenching sobs.

            "I miss her so much Sean. I don't know if I can make it without her. She was the reason for my existence. What am I going to do without her? How am I going to be able to continue?" "Haven't you ever lost someone that you loved before Spike?" "No, I was with Drusilla most of my years as a Vampire. I didn't really love her. Not like I loved Buffy." Spike sat up grabbed a Kleenex and blew his nose and wiped his face. "I feel so empty inside. I know my children need me but all I can think about is Buffy. We knew that she would most likely die before me and we often talked about it. Isn't it a kick in the head though that she died in a traffic accident instead of a fight. They said that Giles died in the accident. At least he is with Dr. Martin now and I'm happy for him." "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Here we pressured him to go to get a check up and the bypass and he dies before he can even come home." "I wonder if we can have sex when we go to heaven." "I don't know Spike but I sure hope so. From what I understand though you and Buffy used to have so much sex that they named a certain position after you two." Spike started laughing. "Angel used to always kid us about that. Poor Connor couldn't go to sleep until Buffy and I were done for the evening. We made so much noise that we actually brought Wesley and Fred together for the first time. Fred said it was like smelling popcorn. When she heard us banging against the wall she said she ran to Wesley's bedroom and jumped in bed with him because she couldn't think of anything but having sex with him."

            Sean and Spike were quiet for awhile. Spike got up and went to the kitchen cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels. He didn't bother with any glasses he just sat down on the floor next to Sean again and took a long drink from the bottle then passed it over to Sean. Sean took a long drink then gave the bottle back to Spike and he just held it up and looked at it. "If there was ever a time to get drunk this is it. At least for tonight I won't have to think about the other side of the bed being empty." Spike took another long drink from the bottle.

            At 12 in the afternoon Kathleen was about to knock on Spike's door when she stopped and listened. She could easily hear the two men snoring loudly. Joyce came down stairs also and went to stand beside her. "Can you hear them in there?" "Yes, they sound like a couple of fog horns. You know what this means don't you?" "No." "My mother told me that as Daddy became more human he started to snore more and louder. I would say that Uncle Spike is on his way to becoming human again. Losing Aunt Buffy and having to go on without her is going to be a way that he is being given to prepare him for heaven. Let's go and wake them up now."

            Kathleen opened the door and both of the girls walked in to find Spike and Sean on the bed, Spike had his arm around Sean. Kathleen and Joyce laughed. They could smell the alcohol in the room so they could pretty much figure out what happened. Kathleen cleared her throat real loud. Both Sean and Spike slowly opened their eyes. When they realized where they were and the position they were in they both pulled away at the same time. When their heads started pounding they knew they had made the wrong move.

            Kathleen elbowed Joyce to get her attention. "Would you two like us to leave so you can have some more quality time together?" Sean just put his hand over his eyes and said "Oh shut up. Stay in here with your father Joyce until I come back. Do you want me to get you something for the hangover Spike?" "No I'm numb from all that I've been through. The headache will give me something else to focus on." Spike sat up slowly, looked at his daughter and patted the bed next to him. "Come here and sit beside me." Joyce came and sat next to her father.

            "I have been feeling so sorry for myself Joyce that I haven't bothered to ask you how you are doing." "I'm doing just fine Daddy. I cried myself to sleep last night but during the night Momma came to me. She told me how happy she was. She said that Grandpa and Grandma had met her when she walked into this bright light. She said that Uncle Angel, Aunt Cordelia and Uncle Gunn were there also. She said that best of all her mother was there. She was so happy Daddy that I couldn't be sad anymore. She told me that she loved me and that she would always be with me then she left. I felt a lot better afterwards Daddy."  Spike hugged his daughter. "She came to me also and said the same thing plus a few other things that I can't tell you. I guess that's why I had my arm around Sean. I thought I was hugging your mother. Can you go and make me a large glass of warm blood and a huge Dagwood sandwich because all of a sudden I am very hungry." "Not until I can get Eddy or Bill to come and sit with you." "I'll be alright Joyce." "No Daddy, we talked about it this morning and decided that we aren't going to leave you alone until we take Momma to Ireland to be buried. I think Jesus will forgive us for being disobedient this time." "So you and your brothers are going to be my jailors for the next two weeks or so." "Yes Daddy, we've lost Momma and we're not ready to lose you also." "Okay Joyce, I'm going to go and take a shower then we can go downstairs and you can take care of your old man."

            While Spike was in the shower Sean and Kathleen left and Hunter came in. "How is he doing?" "He seems to be doing pretty good. He had a good cry last night then we both got royally drunk and Kathleen and Joyce woke us up just a few minutes ago." Sean said.

            "How are you doing Joyce?" Joyce stood up and hugged Hunter. "A lot better Aunt Mickey." "My door is always open Joyce if you or your bothers want to talk." "Thank you Aunt Mickey." The children were the only ones that dared call Hunter Mickey. They had grown up hearing Dr. Thompson calling her Mickey and that was how they always addressed her.

            "Daddy wants me to make him something to eat so if you don't mind I'll leave him in your care while I do that."  "Go ahead Joyce I'll stay with him." Hunter took a seat in front of the TV and turned it on while she waited for Spike. After 15 minutes she heard him call out. "Buffy would you get me a clean pair of shorts and T-shirt." Hunter got up and looked for what he wanted. When she found them she opened the door without knocking and handed them to Spike. He had been brushing his teach when he had asked for the underclothes. When Hunter came in he almost choked on the toothpaste in his mouth. "I'm sorry Hunter I forgot for a minute that she is no longer with me." "It's okay Spike. When I lost Mike it took me almost a week before I stopped calling out his name when I wanted something that was too high for me to reach." Hunter left then and closed the door behind her.

            Spike called out from the bathroom. "Where is Joyce?" "She went downstairs to make you your requested sandwich and blood." Spike opened the door and came out in his bathrobe and stood in front of the closet. When he found something to wear he dropped his robe and got dressed. He dutifully picked up his robe then and hung it up on the back of the bathroom door. He went to the chair where he had left his dirty clothes and pulled out the contents of the pockets. When he was done he dutifully put his dirty clothes in the hamper in the bathroom. He went to stand in front of Hunter and said. "How do I look? Are my eyes still red from crying all night?" "Yes, but that just makes you look like a proper new widower. Let's go downstairs now everyone is waiting to see you and give you their condolences."

            Hunter and Spike went out and down the stairs together. As they reached the bottom of the stairs they could see that everyone was at the dining room table. It was lunch time and Connie had made hamburgers for everyone along with a large amount of French fries. They walked over to the dining room table and took their usual seats. After Spike sat down everyone else sat down. Spike noticed that Connie had put a small bouquet of flowers on the plates of both Buffy and Giles. Kathleen tapped her glass lightly in order to get everyone's attention. When everyone was quiet she started the prayer.

            "Dear Heavenly Father we thank you for the food that we are about to receive. Most of all though Father we would like to thank you for taking Aunt Buffy and Grandpa so quickly so that they didn't have to suffer for very long. Please help Uncle Spike to get through these next few weeks. We will do our best to make sure that he understands that we all love him and that we and his children still need him. Amen." Everyone echoed her Amen.

            "I would like everyone to continue holding hands for a moment. I have something to show you that Grandma gave me." Kathleen put her head down and the rest followed her example. After a moment they all saw Buffy walking towards them. This was Dr. Martin's view of the event so they saw everything from her point of view. As Buffy realized who was standing in front of her she ran to them. She first went to her mother and kissed and hugged her. Then she went to Giles and Dr. Martin then to Angel, Cordelia and Gunn. They even saw Toby and Vicky as she bent down to hug them also. She went back to her mother than and hugged her some more. They could all see how incredibly happy she was. The picture in their minds stopped then.

            There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Spike looked up at everyone. "I understand that my children have all decided that they are going to be my babysitters for the next two or three weeks while I try to get used to the loss of their mother. I want to tell you that your mother has already come to me and warned me about doing anything that would make it impossible for me to join her in heaven. Even though I don't want you to worry about me I will welcome your company."

            "Let's eat now before everything gets cold." Fred said. Everyone dug in then. When it looked like everyone was done or almost done Wesley tapped his glass to get everyone's attention. "Spike I need to tell you that I have already received calls from the coroner's office for Giles and the hospital for Buffy as to what arrangements we have made for the pickup of their bodies. As everyone else has done Buffy and Giles left specific instructions as to what they want done with their bodies after their death. Of course they both wanted their bodies cremated and their ashes buried in Ireland so I've made arrangements for their bodies to be picked up and cremated by the same Funeral Home that took care of Angel and Cordelia.  I called Dawn and told her about Buffy and Giles. They will be coming here for the funeral. I've notified Tom about Giles and Buffy's death also and I've asked Tom to return home to take over as Joyce's Watcher. I told him that he can return to England every few months to take care of business or I can go for a short time. I asked him to take over as Joyce's Watcher Spike because with you working at the hospital so many hours I didn't think you would have the time to work with your daughter. The funeral Mass for Buffy and Giles will take place two Saturdays from now. From past experience we all know that it will take 3 to 5 days before we even get their ashes back. Spike I received a call from Human Resources at the hospital asking about the time of the funeral and if you would prefer something other than flowers to be sent to the church?" Wesley looked at Spike and waited for an answer.

            "Buffy never mentioned to me what she would want or if there was a charity that she wanted donations sent to. Joyce, do you have any idea what your mother would like?" "I think Momma would like flowers to be sent Uncle Wesley." "Okay than I'll call them today and let them know when the funeral will be and that they can send flowers to the church. Spike they also wanted to know when they can expect you back at work." "I'll call them and tell them that I'll be back tomorrow and then I'll be taking off for one week for the funeral and the trip to Ireland." When he saw Joyce start to say something he said "I don't want anyone to say anything, I need to keep myself busy for now or I'll start thinking of your mother too much or else stay drunk for almost two weeks." Joyce stood up at that point and said "Daddy, Momma told me a couple of weeks ago that since you aren't a Master Vampire yet that I could probably kick your behind if I really wanted to so you had better not try to do anything stupid while you're at the hospital. We saw what the Martin family went through when both their Mother and Father died and we have no intention of going through the same thing so take care of yourself Daddy because I'll kick your behind if you dare try anything." Spike stood up straight and pulled up his pants then put his hands on his hips and quietly said "So you think you can kick your father's ass? All I can say is get yourself ready little girl because when Tom gets here we're going to see just how good you are and at the same time Tom will be able to see what he has to work with. I am going to go up stairs now and you can ask Uncle Wesley exactly what you're going up against."

            Spike left to go upstairs. Half way up he called to Connor. "Connor, can you come up to my room for a few minutes?" Connor looked at the rest. "This is going to be fun. I bet Buffy is pushing them into this." He said with a big grin then went running upstairs. Joyce had sat back down when her father left the table. "What did I get myself into? What was he talking about Uncle Wesley?" "Joyce, didn't anyone ever tell you that your father killed two slayers before he was given his soul back? He's the only Vampire to ever do that." Joyce was quiet for awhile. "Momma never told me that." "You don't have to worry about him hurting or killing you but I would say that you had better start working out more. Maybe Hunter will help you work out." "Would you Aunt Mickey?" "Sure, I'll help you to clean your old man's clock. We can start early tomorrow morning. When is Tom supposed to get here Wesley?" Hunter asked. "He hasn't called me back yet to let me know. I'll let you know as soon as he calls." Everyone left then to go to their own tasks for the day.

            When Connor arrived at Spikes room he took a seat at the kitchen table. Spike had been on the phone calling the hospital about his return to work tomorrow and his plans to be off for a week for the funeral and the trip to Ireland. When Spike hung up he went to the couch where he had a bottle of Jack Daniels and a full glass. Connor followed him over to the couch and sat down next to him.

"I haven't seen how Joyce is doing these days. How good is she?" Spike asked as he poured himself another glass of whiskey after drinking the first one in just one minute.

            "I would say that she is almost as good as Buffy was. All she lacks is experience to improve her technique." "I don't want her to see me working out so I think I'll have to work out over at Morgan's. They have all the guys over there that I need to practice with." All the time Spike was talking Connor was laughing. "What's so funny?" "I just know that Buffy is pushing you two into this. Along with Dad she is probably laughing her head off." "She probably is. She's been after me for the past 6 months to start working out again because I was getting out of shape. The last time we had sex I could barely do it twice like we usually do." Spike said. He hung his head down for awhile then drank the glass of whiskey in one gulp. He quickly poured another glass and drank that down. Connor watched him for awhile. It was clear that Spike intended to get drunk again. "I think you need Sean again since I don't drink." "No, get Hunter for me."

            A few minutes later Hunter knocked at the door along with Sean. "Come in." Spike said. As they walked in they found him sitting on the couch and holding onto Buffy's stuffed pig that she called Mr. Gordo. Sean and Hunter sat down on either side of him. Sean had his own bottle and glass that he had brought with him. Spike looked at Hunter. "How do you do it Hunter?" "How I do what?" "You know, continue when you've lost someone that you love more than life itself." "Day by day Spike, day by day. I asked Connie to make a large pillow out of Mike's bathrobe shortly after he passed away. Every night I go to sleep hugging that pillow. Believe it or not but I can still smell his scent on it, it's very faint now but if I put it to my nose and breath in deeply I can still smell him. If you want I can take Buffy's and ask Connie to make a pillow of it for you?" "Would you do that for me?" Spike was starting to slur his words and they could see that he was already half way thru the bottle.

"You're such a nice Vampire. You didn't used to be a nice Vampire. Buffy used to tell me that when you took care of Angel when he had his back broken she had to beg you to help him and even then you spoke to people only when you had to and in as few words as possible." "I was different back then, when I fell in love with Mike Thompson I left that Hunter behind. Just like you left the old Spike behind when you met Buffy." Spike took a long drink from the bottle of whiskey again. He didn't even bother with a glass this time. He stared at nothing in particular after he put the bottle down.

"I'm envious of Angel for being able to have Cordelia with him. I think I even hate him for it." He was quiet for awhile as he stared at the window and the curtains. Hunter saw where he was looking. She took his hand in hers. "Spike I promise you that it will get easier as time goes by. I think you are making the right decision of going back to work and keeping yourself busy."

Without warning Spike jumped up and ran for the window but since he was drunk already Sean and Hunter were able to stop him before he reached it. Through the link they shared Sean called out to Kathleen. In a few minutes she came through the door along with Joyce. They saw Hunter and Sean struggling with Spike on the floor. He wasn't as strong as he normally would be since he was drunk. "Let me go Sean, let me go to her. I don't want to stay in the world without her. Let me go Sean please. Hunter let me go."

Kathleen came over and put her hand on Spikes head and closed her eyes. He slowly calmed down and stopped struggling. Within a few minutes he was sleeping. "You can put him in his bed now. He won't wake up until tomorrow morning when it's time for him to get up and go to the hospital." "I'll stand watch over him today." Hunter said. "That won't be necessary Aunt Hunter. He'll sleep thru out the day and night as I said. I won't do it now because he is too drunk but later tonight I'll come in here and make him dream of what will happen if he should decide to end his existence. Grandma told me that this is the only way that she can think of to make him understand what he will be giving up if he should kill himself." Sean picked up Spike then and put him on the bed. He removed his clothes then covered him up. They all left and Hunter closed the door behind her.

Later in the evening Kathleen went into Spikes bedroom. She sat on the side of the bed and put her hand on the side of his head and made him dream of what he would lose if he took his own life. When she saw the movement of his eyes under his eyelids she knew that he was dreaming. She left then to go to Joyce's bedroom. As she approached the door she could hear Eddy and Bill in with her. It sounded like they were playing a game on the TV. She returned to her own bedroom without disturbing them.

As Kathleen entered her bedroom she found Sean on the couch watching some Warner Brothers cartoons. She thought to herself 'He's like a big kid, if I want to keep him occupied all I have to do is sit him in front of the television and put on some cartoons'. "Let's go to bed Sean." "As soon as this last cartoon is over, I just love it when that coyote tries getting the road runner." Kathleen went in the bathroom to take a shower. As she was leaning against the wall and letting the warm water run over her back she heard Sean come into the shower. They both quickly bathed. After they dried themselves off Sean picked up his wife and carried her to the bed. He made love to her for the next two hours. They both were tired of feeling sad at the loss of Buffy and Giles. They needed a break and their love making gave them that break. When they were exhausted from their lovemaking they slept a deep sound, dreamless sleep.

The next morning Spike woke up at 4 so he could take a shower and get something to eat and drink before he went to the hospital. As he sat at the kitchen table eating his breakfast and having a large mug of blood he realized that he didn't have a hangover. It suddenly dawned on him also that he needed someone to drive him to the hospital. Just as he was about to get up and ask someone to take him Hunter came down the stairs. "Good morning Spike, how are you feeling this morning?" "Surprisingly well, I don't even have a hangover." "You can thank Kathleen for that. Did you have a nice restful sleep?" "She must be the one that caused me to dream of what would happen if I took my own life." "Yes, when you tried killing yourself yesterday Sean asked her to come and help us with you. She made you sleep and gave you the dream later in the evening. She said that Mary had told her to do it since that was the only way that you would learn that you cannot take your own life. It's like Angel told you one time 'One way or another they will get you to heaven'."

After Hunter warmed up a cup of blood and drank it they left for the Hospital. For the next week and a half Spikes routine consisted of working all day at the hospital and working out at either the gym early in the morning or going to Morgan's and working out with his guards at night. Hunter would take him to work each day and pick him up. Each evening she would warm up some blood and put it into a thermos for him before she picked him up. He would usually be very hungry when she did.

When Hunter returned to the hotel Joyce would be waiting in the gym for her. Tom had called Wesley and told him that he wouldn't be coming to the states for the funeral but he would meet them in Ireland for the graveside services with some other people that wanted to come. Then he would come to the states when they returned. So both Joyce and Spike had a little over two weeks to get in shape.

Both of Spikes sons along with Nicky and Mike were being kept busy with the start of the practice season for football. This was their last year in High School and they were all on the varsity football team. They made it clear to the coach that they would be gone for one week within the next couple of weeks so that they could go to Ireland. The coach didn't like it but he understood.

On the fourth day after the accident the funeral home called Wesley to let him know that Buffy's and Giles's ashes were ready. Connor and Kathleen went to pick them up after she got off of work. She had started working at the hospital just 2 days before on a part time bases until she came back from Ireland. As they had done with Angel's and Cordelia's ashes they placed them on the Alter in the chapel. A candle was kept burning and everyone one came in at different times to spend some time with them.

Two days before the funeral mass Dawn and her father's family came to the hotel. Spike had returned from Morgan's just 30 minutes before they arrived. He had been taking a shower when they arrived. His children greeted their Aunt warmly with hugs, kisses and tears all around. They approached and greeted their Grandfather and his new family more formally since they hardly knew them. They were still standing around in the lobby when Spike finally came down the stairs. He stood at the top watching as they all greeted each other. "Where is your father Joyce?" Dawn asked. Joyce looked to the steps. Dawn looked up and saw Spike. He came down the stairs and Dawn ran into his arms. They both cried as they hugged each other tightly. After almost five minutes Spike put her down. He turned then and greeted Buffy's father and the rest of his family. Mr. Summers was very cold in his greeting to Spike. He never approved of Buffy's marriage to him.

After only 30 minutes of being in the hotel Mr. Summers said that they would be staying at a hotel nearby and that they had to go. No one tried to encourage him to stay. Wesley gave him the information on the location and time of the funeral mass then they left.

"I'm sorry for my father's behavior everyone. He isn't normally like this." Dawn said. "That's okay Dawn Buffy told us all about his attitude towards her marriage to Spike. It's too bad though that he lost out on getting to know his grandchildren." Wesley said. "Well it was his loss and our gain because we had all of the grandfather that we needed in Grandpa." Eddy said.

For the next several hours they talked about old times and Dawn told everyone how she would help Spike to get in Buffy's good graces every time he put his foot in his mouth.

"I have to go to bed now Dawn I get up early to go to the hospital and I'm there all day. I'll see you tomorrow when I come back. Tomorrow will be my last day until after we come back from Ireland." He reached over and gave her a kiss and thanked her for coming then left to go upstairs.

"How is he really doing Wesley?" Dawn asked. "As well as can be expected under the circumstances, he tried killing himself on the first day after the accident but Kathleen was able to help him by making him sleep and understand what would happen to him if he chose the time of his death by committing suicide. He's been keeping himself busy by burying himself in his work and working out for a match between himself and our new Slayer." Wesley explained to Dawn why they were going to have a match. "Well I hope they do that before I have to leave. I think I'll go to bed now I'm pretty tired." "Let me show you your room Aunt Dawn." Joyce got up and picked up Dawn's luggage and they went to the elevator. Everyone else got up also and said goodnight to each other then went to their rooms also.

The next day Dawn spent the day with Willow, Tara and Joyce. It had been a long time since they had seen each other and they had a lot of gossip to catch up on. Giles had left the Magic Shop to Willow and Tara so they spent most of their time there. The girls returned home just before supper. Spike was just coming out of the gym as they walked in. His sweat pants and T-shirt were soaked with his sweat. "Are we having a hard time working out Daddy?" Joyce said with a smile. "No more than usual my little girl. I take it that your Uncle Wesley told you about my past fights before I was given my soul back." "Yes Daddy." The rest were smiling at this conversation. The others had seen Spike fight other vampires and demons many times and had even seen him fight Buffy. Spike just grinned at his daughter and went upstairs to take a shower.

As he opened the door to his bedroom he heard familiar voices. He went up to the 4th floor, where all of the guest stayed now. Spike stopped at the 3rd door from the stairs. He recognized the voices, it was Xander and Anya. He didn't want to greet them looking and smelling like he did so he went back to his own room without knocking on the door.

At 7 o'clock everyone came downstairs for supper. Willow, Tara and Fred helped Connie bring in all of the food to the side board. When Spike came in he went to Xander and Anya and greeted them. The long existing hatred that Xander had for Spike was long gone now. When Spike and Buffy got married Xander knew that Buffy did truly love Spike. He had mellowed over the years also and was content in his marriage to Anya. Both of them noticed the small bouquet of flowers on Buffy's and Giles place setting that Connie replaced with new ones each day.    

As usual Kathleen tapped on her glass to get everyone's attention. Xander, Anya and Dawn weren't used to this so they had started to eat when Wesley cleared his throat. They saw everyone else's head bowed down so they did the same.

"Dear Heavenly Father we want to thank you for this delicious food that Connie has made for us. We also want to thank you for bringing all of us together again. I feel kind of silly that we will be having a funeral mass for Aunt Buffy and Grandpa when we know that they are already with you but in this case the mass is more for us then for them. Amen." Everyone echoed Kathleen's Amen then started eating. When they were almost done Dawn was the first one to ask Kathleen the obvious question.

"How do you know that Buffy and Giles are already in heaven Kathleen?" Kathleen got up and went over to stand by Xander, Dawn and Anya. "Hold hands with each other and close your eyes and don't say anything." They did as she said and Kathleen put her hands on Dawn and Xander's shoulders then she closed her eyes and concentrated on what her grandmother had shown her. When she opened her eyes and removed her hands she could see Dawn and Anya crying. Willow was sitting next to Dawn so she put her arm around her and said "Don't cry Dawn Buffy is very happy in heaven. Giles is very happy also since he can be with Dr. Martin now. She was especially happy because she was able to be with your mother again." "I know Willow it's just that I'll never see her again. I mean I'm happy for her but I'll never see her again." Spike couldn't take it anymore so he got up and went into the chapel to sit with Buffy's ashes. Joyce got up to follow him but Hunter told her to sit down while she got up and followed Spike into the chapel.

"He'll be alright Joyce don't worry about him." Kathleen said as she sat down again. "Is there any desert Connie? For some reason I am craving a chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream." "You know that I always have a chocolate cake sitting around for Sean." Joaquin got up to help his wife bring in the cake and two flavors of ice cream. Fred, Willow and Tara collected the plates and took them into the kitchen so there would be more room. When it came to Kathleen being served she was given a cereal bowl with a large slice of cake and two scoops of chocolate ice cream which she immediately started to mash together. Anya started to say something but Sean quickly cut her off. "We never say anything while the masterpiece is being created." Everyone laughed. "Are you pregnant Kathleen?" Anya asked. "No I'm just craving chocolate right now. Don't you get like that every six months or so when your period changes its normal cycle?" "No I used to be a demon and when that was taken away and I was made human they forgot to give me the ability to have children. I have all of the right equipment but no menstrual cycle." "Wouldn't you like to have children because you can always adopt?" "Xander and I talked about it but he made me realize that I don't exactly have the right temperament to raise children. When Buffy and Spike's children were small I couldn't stand to be in their house for very long. When they got older the boys were always making their sisters life miserable and Buffy or Spike would always have to intervene." Mike, Nicky, Eddy and Bill all got up and left the table when the women started talking about their period, it always made them uncomfortable hearing the women talk about such things.

Lou and Fred looked at each other and smiled. Kathleen had seen them leave and was laughing also. "Why do you do that?" Sean asked Kathleen. "Do what?" "Don't act all innocent with me Mary Kathleen. You know that it makes men uncomfortable when they hear women talking about their period and all. You knew that your brothers would probably leave the table once you two started talking about your menstrual cycle and changing and craving chocolate and everything else." Kathleen stood up then. "Well don't you think that we women get sick and tired of hearing about football, baseball and basketball all of the time. Now that is something that can really make you uncomfortable. We don't know what in heaven's name you're talking about. So turnabout is fair play isn't it ladies?" All the women agreed. Sean just looked at Kathleen. She saw the slight grin on his face. Before Sean could grab for her Kathleen was up the stairs and had run to their bedroom.

Sean just sat back down and laughed at her. "I'm so glad that she picks on you now instead of me." Connor said, laughing from the other end of the table. The women got up then and started clearing the table. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and they wanted to go to bed early. Connor went to check on his children that had finished their supper and went upstairs to play earlier. Like Kathleen and Junior had done with Toby, Angus was Daniels and Gabby's playmate and protector and store keeper in a pinch. Lou had kept all of the clothes that Cordelia had given Kathleen so they could dress up Toby that could be dressed up to be either a Store Keeper, a Fireman or best of all, a Garbage Man. They liked him playing a garbage man the best because he would help them pick up their room then. Since Daniel was the oldest he would always choose what roles Angus would play which would always be to Daniel's benefit.

Connor had to read them a story before they would go to bed. Buffy's and their Grandpa's death had barely affected his children. They cried when they were first told that they would never see them again but most of their days consisted of playing and this didn't change. When he finally got them to go to sleep he went back downstairs and found that the dining room was empty and the kitchen lights were turned off. He walked as quietly as he could to the chapel. He could hear Hunter and Spike still talking so he just checked all of the doors and made sure that the security alarm was on. He went upstairs to the roof to check on Eddy, who was on guard from 9 to 12. He made a lot of noise when he opened the door to the roof so that he wouldn't startle him. He saw him quickly stand up and wipe his eyes with the back of his sleeve then pulled his handkerchief out and blew his nose. Connor didn't say anything to him he just stood beside him and put his arm around his shoulder. He knew he couldn't possibly say anything that would help him get through these times but he could stand by him and be there if he needed someone.

The next day was a somber day. Except for Lunch everyone pretty much stayed in their rooms. At 5 o'clock they all started coming downstairs. Wesley had ordered Limousines for the funeral. When it was time to leave Spike and Joyce went into the Chapel to get the urns with Buffy and Giles ashes in them. Joyce and her father kept the urns between them as they sat in silence on the trip to the church. Wesley, Fred, Kathleen and Sean rode with them. Eddy and Bill had chosen to ride with Nicky and Mike. A lot of people from the hospital that worked with Spike had come for the funeral Mass so the church was almost half full. Business associates and friends of Giles had come also.

Fr. Maxwell assisted the pastor of the church at the Mass and gave the eulogy. Willow and Kathleen were the only ones to get up and talk about Buffy and Giles. They had to be careful not to say anything about Buffy being a Slayer and Giles being her Watcher. Kathleen was the last one to talk about them. Wesley sat beside Spike to give him his support. Spike was having a hard time controlling himself so that his blood red tears wouldn't be seen. Joyce held onto her father's hand all through the Mass. He couldn't help himself though when Kathleen got up to talk about Buffy and Giles. Somehow she always knew exactly what to say to put people's minds at ease but all Spike could see is that he would be alone from now on and he could never make love to her again. When the Mass was over they quickly pulled Spike out of the church and to the waiting Limousine. Joyce quickly wiped her father's tears away. They were having a reception at the hotel and they wanted to get Spike home and changed before anyone could see the blood stains on his white shirt. He didn't speak to anyone on the return trip home all he did was hold onto Joyce's hand.

As people started coming in Spike and his children greeted them and thanked them for coming. Hunter had given Spike a tranquilizer so that he could make it through the evening. After everyone left, the group sat around the dining room table having coffee and talking about the trip to Ireland tomorrow evening. Wesley was able to schedule a former client's jet to take them all to Ireland with a one night layover in New York.

Hunter had noticed that Eddy and Bill had, had little interaction with their father ever since their mother had died. She knew that they needed to release whatever they were holding back or it would affect them for the rest of their lives. During a lull in the conversation she gave them an outlet. "How are you doing Eddy and Bill? You haven't come to talk to me at all or talk to anyone else for that matter. It isn't good for you to hold your grief inside. Even your sister has talked to me and the other women."

Neither Eddy nor Bill said anything. Spike spoke up for the first time without looking at anyone. "Answer her Eddy and Bill." Eddy finally spoke up. "Well what do you know you do remember us. We thought you had forgotten that you had any children. We've been waiting for you to come to us but all you've been doing is thinking of yourself and wallowing in your own grief. In case you forgot father dear she was our Mother and we miss her as much as you do. Joyce has been telling us to give you some space and that in time you would turn to us but we are tired of waiting for you to get over yourself." Both Eddy and Bill were now standing behind Spikes chair. Spike stood up slowly and turned to his sons. Eddy and Bill took a step back and Joyce stood up to stand by her brothers.

"Your right and I am sorry. In my own grief I forgot that Buffy had given birth to 3 of my children that missed their mother just as much as I did. I promise that I won't forget again and I am ready to rejoin my family." Spike grabbed on to all of his children and hugged and kissed them. When they let go of each other Spike looked at Eddy and said "If you ever talk to me like that again I am going to clean your clock out. Now get to bed because we have a long day tomorrow." Eddy, Bill and Joyce each gave their father a kiss and hug then left to go to bed. As he watched his children go upstairs, for the first time since the accident, he smiled.

"I'll be okay from now on everyone. You won't have to keep an eye on me any longer. My children have brought me out of my own little world that I thought I was alone in. Goodnight everyone." The rest watched him go upstairs. "He'll be okay now." Hunter said. Everyone helped to clear the table while Connie put everything in the dish washer then they all went to bed.

The next day Connor took Daniel, Gabby and the dogs over to the Morgan's home. Connor knew that they would be safe over there while they were all gone for the coming week. Connie and Joaquin were going to Ireland with the rest for the first time. They had been working for Angel Investigations for so long now that they were more like a part of the family rather than employees. Fr. Maxwell was going also to conduct the services at the cemetery.

The jet was scheduled to take off at 8 p.m. and they had to travel to the Ontario airport where the jet they were taking was kept. By 5 o'clock they were loaded up and on their way to the airport. Spike and Joyce carried Buffy and Giles ashes in the same special carrying cases that Connor and Kathleen had used to carry Angels and Cordelia's ashes in. It was Monday morning when they landed in New York and they all stayed at a hotel that was right next to the airport. At 8 o'clock that night they loaded up again to make the rest of their trip to Ireland.

By the time they landed and drove to the Galway, which was by Angels village they were all dead tired. The Summers and Martin family were the only ones to go to Angels home while the others all stayed at the usual hotel in town. There were only enough rooms for Connor, Lou, Spike, Joyce, Kathleen and Sean while all of the boys stayed in the barn.

By 12 noon everyone was getting up and coming downstairs into the kitchen. Lou, Joyce and Kathleen already had breakfast cooking. They were glad that Mrs. Jenkins had loaded up the refrigerator with food. The only thing they were missing was blood for Sean and Spike. Kathleen had run out of thermoses full of blood the previous day. She went over to the barn to wake her brothers up.

"Nicky and Mike are you guys awake yet?" "Yeah we're all awake." Nicky answered. "Good because I need for you guys to go and get some blood from the sheep in the back for Sean, Spike, Hunter and Fr. Maxwell when they get here. Come to the kitchen and I'll have everything you need." "We've never done it before Kathleen." "Okay I'll ask Connor to go with you. I'm pretty sure that he said he did it with Daddy when they came here for the first time."

Kathleen went back in and told Connor that he would have to go with their brothers because they didn't know how to get the blood from the sheep. Kathleen gave him a large needle that was attached to a rubber hose and several containers for holding the blood.

"Do you remember where to put the needle in the sheep Connor?" Sean asked. "Dad did that part I only remember seeing him putting it in their neck." "The sheep were shorn recently so it shouldn't be too hard to see what you're doing. Just put the needle into their neck about 3 inches below their ear and on the right side. If you want you can just get about 6 sheep into the barn and Spike and I can come over and do it." Sean said. "That sounds easier. One of us will come and get you when we're ready.

Connor asked Lou, Kathleen and Joyce to come and help them gather up the sheep they needed. Sean and Spike watched the comedy of events from the safety of the kitchen window. It had rained the previous day and the back acreage was muddy except the walk way to the cemetery in the back. All of the sheep were large and strong. Since they had been shorn recently there wasn't anything for anyone to grab onto. In the house Sean and Spike were laughing their heads off. After everyone was thoroughly soaked in mud they managed to get 5 sheep in the barn. Kathleen called Sean and Spike over to get what they needed. They each put a blanket over their heads and ran for the barn. It only took Sean and Spike a few minutes to grab one of the sheep and get the blood they needed. As they finished with each sheep Kathleen would mark each one with some oil based paint that would wash off within a week or two then let it out of the barn where it would then run to rejoin the rest of the flock. By the time everyone from town arrived they had finished getting all the blood they would need for the next couple of days for their four Vampires.

Wesley pulled up to see eight people covered in mud. "What in heaven's name have you people been doing?" Connor explained what had happened. "Connie and Hunter would you go in and get blankets and towels for us to use after we clean the mud off? The linen closet is at the top of the stairs and to the right." Lou asked them.

When Connie and Hunter came back with the blankets and towels the men left the barn while the women took their clothes off and rinsed all the mud off then went running into the house to take showers. The men went inside the barn then and did the same. While the men were taking showers the women were warming up their breakfast. When they came down everyone was getting their food and sitting down wherever they could find a seat. The boys took their food out and sat in the barn. By 5 p.m. people from the Watchers council were starting to show up. The services at the cemetery were scheduled for 7. The local funeral home had lent a canopy and chairs to Wesley for the ceremony. Fr. Maxwell had come with them to Ireland and was going to conduct the services at the cemetery.

Peggy, Giles former secretary, had her arm wrapped around Tom's arm. It was more for support than anything else. When Tom introduced her to Spike and his children she let go of him and hugged Spike and Joyce and the boys. "We were all so saddened to hear about the death of your wife Dr. Summers. We were even more shocked to hear about Giles death in the same accident. Here we had just been told that the surgery went well and he was going home then the next call was to tell us that he had died in an accident while going home." She was constantly wiping at her tears as she talked to them. The more she talked the more people realized that she had been in love with Giles through the years. Hunter came over took her hand and led her away from the group. She offered a mild tranquilizer to Peggy which she accepted gratefully.

Others from the Watchers Council were also there and offering their condolences on the death of Buffy and Giles. Of course they all knew what Spike, Sean and Hunter were but for some reason they didn't seem to know about Fr. Maxwell.

At 7 o'clock, when there was no danger from the sun for the Vampires in the group, they all left to go to the cemetery where Fr. Maxwell performed the burial services. The hole had already been dug in front of the grave stone for Buffy and one in front of the grave stone for Dr. Martin. The hole for Buffy's ashes had been dug deep so that when Spike died his ashes would be placed on top of hers but when he saw it he told his children that he would rather that his ashes be buried besides Buffy's so that in death they would be together side by side as they had been in life. Giles had wanted his ashes to be buried next to Dr. Martin's ashes and not on top so the hole that was dug was slightly wider since they had to determine where her urn was buried. When the services were over Spike lowered Buffy's ashes in the hole using a special net. All of his children came forward then and helped to push the dirt in over the urn. Then Giles urn was placed beside their Grandmothers ashes and they all pushed the dirt in. The last thing to be done before they left was for Kathleen to place seeds from climbing roses that were in the garden at home into the ground around the fence that surrounded the cemetery. She stood back when the last one was buried and simply said the word grow. Within minutes the climbing roses started to grow until they covered the fence completely and white and deep red roses started blooming. The air was filled with the scent of roses when they finally stopped growing.

All of the Watchers Council people started to leave after the services. Tom, of course, was the only one to stay since he was going back to Los Angeles with the rest. It was almost 11 o'clock when Spike got up from the kitchen table where he had been sitting and listening to everyone talk.

"Joyce, Eddy and Bill come with me outside to the barn. We have one last thing that I want to do for your mother while we are here." Spikes children got up and followed him into the barn without question. Thirty minutes later they could hear Wolves howling.

"Is that them Sean?" Kathleen asked. "Yes, they are giving a Wolfs version of a goodbye to a fallen comrade." Everyone went outside and listened to them. Off in the distance they could hear dogs in all of the farms around the valley echoing their cry. They didn't stop howling until well after midnight. The rest had either left for the hotel or gone to bed by the time Spike and his children came in. Each of his children gave their father a kiss then went to bed. After everyone had gone to bed Spike went back out to Buffy's grave and sat down on the ground and leaned against her gravestone. He talked to her way into the morning. If you had been watching him you would have seen a soft white light sitting next to him. Buffy was talking to Spike. When the sun started to come up she told him to go in before the sun came up. You could see her give him a kiss before she left. Just as the sun started to reach over the surrounding hills Spike ran inside.

The next day was quiet. They kept the noise down so that they wouldn't wake Spike up. While he was sleeping the rest of the people that were staying at the hotel had arrived. By 5 o'clock at night Spike was up. After he had his blood Connor approached him at the table. "Spike, let's go to Dad's old hang out." "Where is that?" "In the village; when I came with Dad, Grandma and Cordelia he wanted to show me the alleyway where my mother had turned him. After he showed me the alleyway he took us to the Inn where he used to hang out almost every night and got drunk and into fights." Spike thought about it for a minute. He jumped up all of a sudden and said "Yes, let's go and if we're lucky we'll be able to start a fight or two." When they told the women they were going out they said they wanted to go also. Both Connor and Spike said at the same time "No, this is just for the men." With that said they gathered the boys up along with the rest of the men and left for the Village Inn.

TBC…………………………………………………   


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

            All of the men were able to pile into one of the vans they had rented. It took them awhile but Connor found the village Inn by using the directions they had obtained from Mr. Jenkins as to the directions to the historic part of the village. Vehicles were allowed to go just so far down the brick lined streets in the historic district. The streets were too narrow after a certain point. Connor parked the van at a nearby store. They had to walk the rest of the way. Connor took them to the alleyway that Angel had told him his mother had turned him into a Vampire. They stood there for awhile. "Where did Drusilla turn you Dad?" "In London, I tried showing your mother where I met Drusilla but the area has been turned into a huge apartment building."

            "Let's go to the fun part of our evening." Connor said as he led everyone over to Angel's playground, as Cordelia used to call it. As they approached the Inn they could hear Irish music playing. When they went inside though they found things to be very peaceful and it had the atmosphere of a normal restaurant. Connor looked for the table that had Angels initials carved in it. Fortunately it was empty. He made a beeline for it and told Nicky and Mike to sit at the end with him. The waitress came over and took their orders. Spike had told Nicky, Mike, Eddy and Bill not to order to large of a meal because if they got lucky and were able to get into a fight they wouldn't want to have to stop to vomit their meal. While they waited for their food and drinks Connor told them to look for Angel's initials that he had carved into the table when he was young.

            "All I see are the initials LM." Nicky said. "That's it don't forget that Dad's name before he was turned was Liam Martin." Connor said. Nicky and Mike ran their fingers over the carved initials. "It's kind of hard to wrap your mind around that information. I guess we never actually thought about Dad being so old. You know what I mean?" Mike said.

            "I know what you mean Mike. I know the number of years that your father was alive but it's kind of like watching TV or the movies. It's kind of surreal. When you know that this piece of wood is almost 300 years old it makes the number of years we associated with your dad as more real." Wesley said. "Come with me Nicky and Mike and I'll show you were dad kept count of his female conquests." They got up and Connor took his brothers over to the post where Liam Martin would put a notch for every woman that he had sex with. When they returned the food had been served. In Ireland the legal drinking age was 18 so Connor had ordered two pitchers of beer for everyone. As they ate their meal the men were beginning to think that it was going to be an uneventful evening until a group of construction workers came in.

            Spike elbowed Sean. "I think our entertainment for the evening just came in and it looks like were equally matched." As they finished their meal Sean and Spike started talking rather loudly about who was better in a fight, Americans, Scotsman or the Irish. They didn't get a bite at first so they let the conversation get a little louder at the appropriate times. One of the construction workers had finally had enough and got up and confronted Sean.

            All in all it was a grand fight. When the conversation started getting too loud the manager came over and told them to take it outside. Joaquin turned out to be quiet a fighter even though he was shorter than the rest. Wesley and Joaquin were older than the rest but since they both exercised regularly they were able to hold their own. Eddy came to Nicky's aid when the largest of the men came after him. He was almost a foot taller than Nicky so he was having a hard time getting in a good punch to his face. Eddy jumped on the man's back and grabbed his head as the man went to his knees. Nicky could now reach him to land a punch to his chin that succeeded in breaking at least one tooth. After about 30 minutes of fighting they were all exhausted and just sat down on the ground. Most of them were spitting out blood from their mouths as they sat down. One of the Irishmen had a broken hand that Sean tended to since he is the one that had broken it.

            One of the construction workers finally stood up and went over to Spike and offered his hand in friendship. They shook hands and the Irishman said "Thanks that was a grand fight." They both smiled as they shook hands. All the rest stood up and shook hands also. They stood around for a few minutes talking then parted and went their own way.

            The men were glad that it was late when they returned home because the women would be sleeping and not be able to see the condition they were in. The men decided to sleep in the barn that night. Sean searched for Kathleen's mind and found that she was still awake and waiting for him to come back. He told her that the men were sleeping in the barn so that they wouldn't disturb the women. Kathleen didn't question him further and just said goodnight. When he looked at the house he saw the light in their bedroom go out.

            The next morning Kathleen told the women that the men had come in so late that they decided to stay out in the barn so they wouldn't wake them. The men that had Vampire blood in them were either completely healed or almost healed. Wesley, Joaquin and Junior had no such help and Wesley and Joaquin both had black eyes and split lips. Joaquin's right hand had deep cuts in it as a result of hitting his opponent's teeth. Junior was almost as bad since Spike had told everyone not to use any of the martial arts since it wouldn't be fair in fighting these guys. When they were ready and had straightened themselves up as best they could they went into the house.

            To their surprise the women just served them breakfast. Those that were staying at the house went up to take a shower and change into clean clothes. Wesley, Tom, Junior and Joaquin all had to wait until they got back to the hotel before they could shower and get clean clothes. After they had breakfast those that were staying at the hotel left to go and take a shower and get clean clothes. They returned that afternoon. The women hadn't said anything about the condition of the men yet and it was driving them crazy. When the women decided to go shopping Sean stood up and said "Alright we want to know why you women haven't started yelling at us for coming back in the condition we came back in."

            "We discussed it and Hunter told us that you men needed this outlet for what we have all been going through these past three weeks. She said that it would be good for Spike, Eddy and Bill. Now that you men have had your fun we women are going to go and do what we do which is shop and eat chocolate. You men are on your own for Supper." Fred said. The women all left then and spent the rest of the day shopping. When they stopped for Supper they had Irish stew and Chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream. When they finally returned they were loaded down with packages and dead tired. They found the men in the back of the house sitting around a fire and drinking beer. Spike was the only one missing.

            "Where is Spike?" Hunter asked. "He's at the cemetery with Mom." Eddy said. "How has he been today?" "A lot better I think he just went to the back to tell her about our evening last night." Wesley answered this time.

            "Come on Sean it's time for us to go to bed." Kathleen said as she went to her husband and pulled him up by his arm. "It's not that late and we slept late this morning." Kathleen just looked at him with a smile and raised her eyebrows a couple of times. "Oh!" Sean cleared his throat and said "Yes I think it's time to go to bed. Goodnight everyone." Before they could go inside Fred called out to Sean "You can't go to bed yet Sean. We're out of blood so you and Spike need to go shopping. Get enough to last until Friday so that we can fill up all of the Thermoses before we leave. All of the things you'll need are in the kitchen and on top of the counter. I cleaned everything this afternoon." Sean just looked at Kathleen. "Momentary delay my dear." "That's okay I'm not going anyplace but to our room." Sean ran into the kitchen and grabbed the supplies and ran out to the cemetery. Eddy, Bill, Nicky and Mike got up and followed him to the back.

            One hour later everyone was back with 3 containers of blood. As soon as the blood was put in the refrigerator Sean went upstairs to join his young wife. Everyone else just went back outside to sit around the fire. Spike especially didn't want to go to bed yet, at least not until the newlyweds were done for the evening and sleeping. "Let's go for a walk Spike." Hunter said. Spike got up right away and joined her. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't keep from hearing Sean and Kathleen. As he came running to her Hunter knew she had read his body language correctly. They didn't say anything for a long time.

            "Spike, if you should ever feel the need for sex you are welcome in my bed. We are both widowed now but not dead yet." Spike looked at Hunter. "Thanks for the offer Hunter. I'll keep it in mind. I think I'll go and sit with Buffy until the morning." Spike left her side and went to the cemetery. Hunter returned to the house then and took a seat at the couch. She was glad that Jeff had decided to stay with Mrs. Benton. The memories of burying his father were still too fresh in his mind.

            When Tom had gone into the house he saw Joyce asleep on the couch. He stared at her for awhile and for some reason his heart started to beat faster. He almost jumped out of his skin when Fred put her hand on his shoulder. "Would you take her upstairs for me Tom and put her in her bed." Tom picked Joyce up and followed Fred upstairs and to the third door at the top. Fred pulled Joyce's shoes off and lifted the covers so Tom could lay Joyce down. She covered her then and they left. They went downstairs and Tom told the ladies "Get in the vans ladies and I'll get the men." Tom went outside and said "The vans will be leaving for the hotel in 5 minutes men so you better load up."

            Everyone that was staying at the Hotel in Galway were on their way in 5 minutes. That night as Fred and Wesley lay in bed Fred mentioned how she caught Tom staring at Joyce. "He was just interested in her as the Slayer." Wesley said. "No, I don't think so. I believe God has chosen Joyce's future husband." "We'll since God did the choosing I guess that it will be a perfect match." Wesley said as he pulled Fred into his arms and they went to sleep. Both Fred and Wesley were now in their late forties and the last of the original Angel Investigation team and Fred had not chosen Wesley's or Dr. Martin's replacement yet.

            Once again as the sun started to come up over the hills surrounding the valley Buffy said goodbye to Spike and left. He sat there for a few more moments then got up and went back to the house and slept for the rest of the day.

            At 5 p.m. Joyce knocked on her father's bedroom door. "Daddy, are you awake?" She didn't receive an answer so she opened the door a little to see if he was still in bed. "Are you looking for me?" Spike said real loud. Joyce let out a little scream and turned. "You scared me." "Keep your senses sharp at all times little girl you never know when their might be danger right behind you." He grabbed her and made like he was going to bite her neck. Joyce broke his hold on her and flipped him over her shoulder. "Never underestimate your victim. Everyone is ready to leave and we are waiting on you." Spike jumped up and grabbed for his daughter but she was already on her way downstairs and laughing all the way.

            Just 20 minutes later Spike was dressed and downstairs. As soon as he appeared downstairs everyone started to go outside. Joyce handed a mug of blood to her father and they all loaded up in the van. Kathleen carried two large thermoses full of blood for Sean and Joyce carried two for her father. Lou had two for Hunter. Fr. Maxwell had told Wesley that he would meet them at the airport with his own supply of blood. He had been staying at one of the Jesuit houses in Dublin since after the services at the grave site.

            It was Friday night when they left Ireland and they arrived back in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Everyone was tired and went right to bed.

            The next morning everyone but Spike was up and dressed for church at 11. "Kathleen, can you tell if Spike is up yet?" Wesley asked. "He's up and I think he's on his way down now."

            "Yes I'm up Mrs. McConnell. Just because I put up with your father getting into my mind whenever he wanted to doesn't mean that I'll put up with you doing it. Is that understood?" "I asked her to do it Spike." Wesley said. "All you had to do was knock on my door. Even your father would call out to me first." "I apologize Uncle Spike I promise to knock first." "Apology accepted. Let's go or Father will be staring at us as we walk in late."

            Everyone loaded up then with nothing more being said of the incident. Later that evening at the supper table Spike finally spoke to his daughter about their upcoming match. "Well my little girl do you think you're ready to take on your old man?" "Just waiting for you to name the time and place." Joyce said with a grin.

            "What's this match about?" Tom asked. "My daughter told me that if I should try committing suicide that she would kick my butt. So I told her that when you came home with us that we would see how good she was so that I could put her in her place and also give you a chance to see what you were going to be working with." "I know your record Spike so please don't hurt her. I don't want to lose her just as I found her." Spike took a second look at Tom but decided to let it go.

            "I checked with the hospital today and they don't want me to come in until Tuesday so we can see how good you are tomorrow. Have a light breakfast tomorrow morning because I don't want you to say 'I lost because I was weak from hunger'." Spike said with a wicked little grin that Wesley hadn't seen on him in a long time.

            Spike got up then and looked at Sean "Sean and Hunter could I speak to you in private for a moment?" Sean and Hunter just got up and followed Spike into the Gym. Spike sat down at the furthest end of the pool and took a seat at one of the benches.

            Sean and Hunter sat down on either side of Spike. They waited for him to say something.

            "I have a favor to ask of you Sean that is going to be very personal and very private. If you agree to do what I am going to ask you to do I don't want you talking to anyone but Hunter about it, okay?" "I understand. What is it you want me to do?"

            "I've seen how you talk to Daniel and Gabby. You're very understanding and you seem to have an immense amount of patience. I've even heard the nurses at the hospital say that if you're working in the emergency room they often call on you to handle any difficult children." "All of my brothers and sisters were younger than me and I usually had to take care of them while my parents were working late at night."

            "Well I have another child for you to speak to late at night. His name is Billy and he's my demon. Angel and I believe that my demon was a child that was taken when he was very young and unknowingly agreed to be a demon. Of course he didn't understand what he was doing but that never stopped Satan from getting a new soul to work for him. Angelus used to talk to Billy all of the time and teach him things but Billy, being a child and understanding things as a child does, had to have things repeated to him over and over again. Angelus would soon become irritated with him and would let Angel come through so he could deal with Billy. Billy liked talking to Angel and they would often have long conversations. After I married Buffy Billy asked me to ask Angel if he would come and talk to him again at night. He made Angel promise that he would bring the same books that he read to Kathleen that night and read them to him. Angel and I even went to New Hampshire to ask the Sisters at Dr. Martin's old religious order to pray for Billy that God would take him to heaven when I died.

            When Angel died Buffy took over the job of talking to him at night and reading him stories. Billy liked Buffy reading to him but he never really opened up to her like he did Angel. I think it's because he needs another man to talk to. Hunter and Wesley are the only other people that know about Billy. Hunter tried talking to him when Buffy died but he didn't respond to her very well either and Wesley doesn't know how to talk to a child on the child's level. I am telling you all of this because I would like for you to take over Angel's job." "Why doesn't he talk to you?" "I guess he sees me like a big brother that bullies him around all of the time. When I was first turned Billy gave me all of my Vampire powers but I am the one that told him how to kill and why it was fun to rape women before we took their blood. All the evil that I displayed during those early years was all my doing. The penance that Fr. Maxwell gave you is kids stuff compared to mine. I didn't change my attitude until I fell in love with Buffy. She was rejecting me so much at first that I went to see a powerful group of people that I heard could help me stop loving Buffy. They put me through a lot of tests and torture to see if that was really what I wanted but I guess they were able to read my heart's desire better than I could because they ended up giving me my soul back. If it wasn't for Buffy I would have still been known as the Terror of Europe."

            "I can see why Billy wants someone else to talk to. I'll be glad to do it Spike. When do you want me to come over and how do we go about it?" "You can come over after midnight tonight and all you have to do is sit by my bed and call out to Billy. He'll come through, be careful though because he'll get you to talk to him all night if you let him and if Billy doesn't get his sleep, even though I am sleeping, that means that I don't get the rest I need."

            Sean got up then and said "I promise to come over tonight after midnight. I'm going to have to tell Kathleen though or else she will suspect me of visiting someone else's bed."  "I understand just make sure that she understands that I don't want her talking to anyone else about him." Sean and Hunter got up and left then. Spike went into the showers where he kept some swimming trunks in a locker. He quickly changed and did a dozen laps in the pool.

            That night Sean kept his promise and met Billy for the first time. From then on he would come and visit with Billy at least once each week. Like Angel Sean brought one of the children's books with him to read to Billy.

            On the back patio Tom and Joyce were sitting at the table, having a coke and coffee and just talking. "Are you going to further your education like the rest?" "I've been taking a vacation from school but Aunt Fred has told me that I need to go on to college to be a teacher so that eventually I'll take over from her and Uncle Wesley in teaching the children in our group until we feel safe in letting them go to public school." "What about your duties as The Slayer?" "I don't think it will be a problem my mother said it wasn't a problem for her and she did a couple of years in college." Tom hesitated before he asked the next question. "What about friends?" "All of my friends are right here or over with Gunn's Kids." Tom's hands were starting to get sweaty. "What, what about boyfriends? Do you have one?" "Not yet but I have high hopes for a certain person I just recently met again after not seeing him for a long time." Tom started stuttering. "Is hhhhe your age?" "No, he's older than me but like Kathleen it isn't a big deal with me." Joyce leaned forward and supported her chin with her right hand and looked straight at Tom. Joyce was as cool as a cucumber and she was quiet well aware of the affect she was having on him. She ran her tongue over her lips and flipped her hair back over her shoulders then continued to lean her chin on her hand. By now Tom had to cross his legs in order to hide his current condition.

            "Don't forget that God has been choosing our spouses for us. It took him awhile to get Momma and Daddy together but Momma finally gave into Daddy's charms. He paired up Uncle Angel and Aunt Cordelia, Connor and your sister and Kathleen and Sean and I am one hundred percent sure that he has found someone for me. Like Kathleen I don't care about the age difference and if anyone has to say anything about it I'll just tell them that if they have a problem they can talk to God about his choice for me." Joyce didn't say anything for awhile. She saw Tom's leg jumping up and down and she knew she had better end the torture session.

            "Tom D'Chambeau if you don't come over here and kiss me I think you'll have a heart attack." Tom jumped up and picked Joyce up into his arms and kissed her. She responded with as much passion as Tom gave.

            On the balcony above the patio Kathleen, Fred and Lou were listening to what was going on. When Tom jumped up and grabbed Joyce you could hear Lou and Fred say "Bingo, the next slayer is now in the works." When Tom finally pulled his head away from her Joyce said real loud "I know you're up there ladies and that you've been listening." The women went running back into the bedroom and away from the balcony where they could laugh without being heard so easily. They were embarrassed that they had been caught listening in on a very private conversation. For the next two hours Joyce and Tom stayed on the balcony just talking. Joyce finally got up and said "I better go to bed Tom since I have that match with my father. I want to be well rested." She bent over and gave him a long kiss. When she left Tom let out a loud howl like a wolf.

            The next morning was the big match and everyone was present in the gym. Joyce had a pair of shorts on along with a sleeveless T-shirt. Spike wore his usual jeans and a plain black T-shirt. Neither one wore shoes of any kind. Spike walked around Joyce and saying things that were chosen to get her mad enough to attack first. But she kept her cool and just stood in the middle of the exercise mat. As Spike walked behind her he threw himself at her in an attempt to knock her off of her feet. Joyce fell forward but recovered quickly by rolling over and then flipping over and landing on her feet. She grabbed at her father's arm as he tried to get a strangle hold on her. All the time they were fighting Eddy and Bill were cheering their sister on. Tom just sat quietly on the side and watched Joyce carefully.

            After 30 minutes of the match, with both of them standing as equals, Spike pulled all the plugs out and made one last move. He had been watching his daughter carefully throughout the match and he saw her repeatedly make the same gesture before she would kick his legs out from under him. The next time she ran her hand over her forehead and wiped her nose he was ready. This time when she kicked out at his legs he flipped over her head and grabbed her neck from behind and made a gesture as though he was breaking her neck. Spike let go of his daughter and let her slide down to the floor. They both lay down on the mat for awhile to catch their breath. Fred and Lou gave them each a towel. Everyone gathered around them.

            When she was able to Joyce sat up and looked at her father. "How did you know I was going to try and kick your legs out from under you? Your back was toward me when I did it." Spike sat up also. "Do you know how I did it Tom?" "Every time you make certain moves Joyce you announce what you are going to do by doing certain things." "What did I do?" "When you are going to kick at your opponent's legs you always wipe your forehead and then run your finger under your nose." "Do I do other things to announce other moves?" "Yes but now that you know that you do it we'll work on you correcting those." Tom said as he gave her his hand to help her up.

            Spike stood up and said "You did an excellent job Joyce. Don't feel bad about losing to your old man. Don't forget that I killed two Slayers and I almost killed your mother one time but she was pulling on my heart strings so tightly that I almost couldn't think. Later after I was given my soul back and we were sitting at the back of her mother's house she asked me how I was able to kill two Slayers and almost end her life. I told her the same thing that I am going to tell you. I won because I fight with my mind as well as my body. I watched how each of those Slayers fought me and I would always find those certain gestures they made before they made certain moves. The next time they made the gestures I was ready and I killed them in the same way that I could have killed you. Once I told your mother what she was doing she made sure that she erased every repetitive movement when she fought."

            "I guess you've proven to your little girl that it will be awhile before I can kick my old man's behind." Spike went over to his daughter and put his arm around her neck. "It won't be long baby, it won't be long. Like Angel God is making me human again in very tiny increments. I almost didn't win because I could hardly breathe at the end. I'm sure that as you work with Tom, that is when you don't have your hands all over each other, he'll teach you how to correct yourself and improve your technique."

            Joyce stopped and looked at her father. "How did you know Tom and I had been together?" "When I came to your room to say goodnight I could smell him on you." "You don't have any objections since there is such a big difference in our age?" "If there is one thing that I have learned after all of these years of working with Angel Investigations it is you don't argue with the Man upstairs and if two old farts like Angel and I can get two young girls to fall in love with us I am sure that you two will do just fine." Joyce reached up and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Daddy I was worried that you might not approve."

            As they left to go up to their own rooms everyone else was still standing in the gym. Eddy and Bill were still standing with their mouths open. "He won, he actually won. I didn't think that he could do it." Eddy said. "There is more to your old man than you thought, huh?" Wesley asked. Everyone that had bet on Joyce were paying those that bet on Spike before they left. 

            At 1 o'clock everyone was sitting at the dining room table for lunch. Kathleen and Sean were the only ones missing. She had started working at the hospital today and Sean had been called in to help in Surgery. These days he didn't work at the hospital on a regular basis but only worked when they needed him. Tomorrow Spike would start his residency in surgery. Before today he had just been working there on a rotation basis but the other surgeons had asked for his assistance so much that the Director of Residents started him in his Surgical residency early.

            As they all sat at the table eating, the dogs started barking. "I don't hear or sense anything outside." Spike said. "They're afraid." Connor said. Within the next second they could see the drinks on the table starting to show vibration then moving across the table. Then they felt the building shaking. Connor and Lou grabbed Daniel and Gabby and pulled them under the table. Fred and Joyce dove under the table also. Connie quickly turned the stove off and joined Joaquin under the kitchen table. The quake lasted a good 15 seconds. Everyone slowly came out from under the tables.

            "Wow! That was a powerful one. Let's turn on the TV and see what happened." Connor looked at Wesley and crossed his fingers as he turned the big screen TV on. The news quickly came on and reported on the quake. They showed what happened in the news room as the quake hit. The quake was reported as being 6.5 on the Richter scale. They watched every second of the news to see if they reported the Wolfram & Hart building going down but nothing was said. They were disappointed but were still hopeful that one of the aftershocks would be powerful enough to do the job. Spike got on the phone and called Xander to see if anything happened to Sunnydale but he reported that nothing had happened that he could see easily.

            Before doing anything else they checked the hotel out from top to bottom. Everything was okay and Wesley said "I thank God that we had Xander update the hotel or else we may have been standing in the basement right now." Everyone laughed about it but they knew they had been very lucky. The improvements and replacement of all of the gas pipes and plumbing had been brought up to all of the current, at the time, building codes for Los Angeles. The building codes were strict and were basically that way because of the earth quakes that California is known for.

            When Sean and Kathleen came home that evening they drove by the Wolfram & Hart building to see if it was still standing. Since it was clear that it was still standing they just continued on home.

            Kathleen was tired after her first full day at the hospital. She had worked 12 hours today and she had two more days of the same thing. Sean had been in surgery all day so he was both hungry for blood and his feet were hurting from standing in one place all day. Next month she would start working on becoming an Anesthetist on days that she wasn't scheduled for duty on the floor.

            As they walked in through the back doors they said hello to everyone and went right to the sideboards where the food was set out. Connie brought over a large mug of blood for Sean. He drank it down within just a few gulps. Kathleen was feeling very tired but she knew that it was because it had been too long since she had last ate. She wanted to just sleep but instead she forced herself to eat. The more she ate the better she felt. Halfway through she finally felt like talking. "How did it go over here with the earthquake?" "Nothing damaged. We were disappointed that the Wolfram & Hart building didn't go down yet." Connor answered.

            "Where was it centered?" Kathleen asked. "They said in Sunnydale." Wesley said. "You mean Sunnydale is still there even with that powerful an earthquake." "Yes but the Army Core of Engineers isn't letting anyone go into the town. They said the ground is too unstable because of all of the caverns underneath the town." Wesley said.  "Well I'm sure Daddy is going to tell us to stay away from the town because all it will take is one good aftershock and it will go down forever and the hell mouth will be sealed shut forever. Where is Cylindia?" "She called to say she was on her way home and she should be here soon." Connie said.

            In a few minutes Cylindia came in and said hello to everyone. She went to Kathleen and asked her "How are you doing this evening Nurse McConnell? I bet your feet are killing you." "Yes they are Nurse Gunn." They laughed at each other. "How do you do it Cylindia?" "Do what?" "I am so tired and my feet are killing me." "You'll get used to it Kathleen, by this time next month you'll feel like exercising again." "Now that you said that it reminded me about the match today. How did it go Joyce?" "Daddy cleaned my clock and showed me who was able to kick whose butt." Everyone laughed at her admittance to her inability to best her father.

            "Well Dr. Summers are you looking forward to your first day as a Resident in Surgery?" Sean asked. "Yes and I can honestly say that I can hardly wait but I think that eventually I'll become an OB/GYN. I miss being able to help bring new life into the world instead of taking it out of the world." "Well I think that I will go and soak my poor body in the tub for awhile and then go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow. Connor, can I borrow your van tomorrow if Sean has to go in again?" "Yes, I'll leave the keys on my desk." "You'll go in with me Uncle Spike?" "Yes indeed, Hunter can enjoy sleeping late again." Sean got up and fixed another glass of blood for himself then said goodnight to everyone and went upstairs also.

            As Kathleen lay against Sean in the whirlpool bath she spaced out for a minute. Sean, from experience, knew she was having a vision. When it was over Kathleen got out of the tub. "We have to go also Sean; it's a big group attacking a group of women over at the warehouse district by the airport." As soon as Kathleen dried off she called Connor and told him she had just had a vision, where it was and that they would all be needed.

            By the time Sean and Kathleen were dressed and on their way downstairs they saw everyone else downstairs and heading for the back also. When they arrived at the location they found the four women that her vision had showed her, being attacked by three vampires and five human males. As usual Kathleen stayed in the background while the others took care of the gang of humans and vampires. The humans quickly ran off when they saw the rest killing the Vampires. They weren't so brave once their vampires were killed. Just as they started to help the women up and check them out two important things occurred. The first one was when one of the women was questioned as to whether she was alright or not. Kathleen recognized her as Mrs. Winters who was the supervisor of nurses in the emergency room at the hospital where Kathleen, Sean and Spike worked. She recognized Spike as Dr. Summers and when she looked towards the vehicles she recognized Kathleen. The second incident occurred at the same time Mrs. Winters recognized everyone and called out to Kathleen, a strong aftershock took place. The ground started to shake then after a few seconds there was a sharp movement as though things were settling back into place. It was such a sharp movement that everyone standing fell down.

            After everyone was able to stand again they gathered the women up. "Kathleen, Dr. Summers and Dr. McConnell what are you doing out here. What were those men their eyes were a deep red when they looked at us? Did someone call 911 yet?" "What were you women doing out here all alone?" Spike asked her. "We weren't here, they brought us here. We were just coming out of a late show when we were jumped by those things. They threw us in the back of a van and brought us over here. How did you kill them and why did they turn to ashes when you killed them?" All of the women were crying and telling them what had happened at the same time. It was clear that the women were in shock.

            Kathleen came over to Mrs. Winters and calmly questioned her as to where they went to the theater. "We went to the Cinerama Dome." "Where are your purses did you drop them or bring them with you?" I think we left them in their van." Eddy was the closest one to the van so he opened it and found the purses on the floor. He brought it over to the group and each woman grabbed their own purses.

            "Since everyone is alright why don't we take them back to the theater so they can pick up their car?" Wesley asked. "I think that's a good idea. Why don't you take these two ladies and well take the other two?"  Kathleen said as she helped two of the women to get into Wesley's van. When their seat belts were fastened Kathleen made them forget everything they had seen and put them into a light sleep. She then went to the other van and did the same thing to the other women. She quickly got in and they all left for the Cinerama Dome where they deposited the ladies in the parking lot. Kathleen, Sean and Spike got out while Wesley parked his van and just sat in it quietly.

            As the women began to wake up Sean, Kathleen and Spike kneeled down by them and acted as though they had just found them. "Mrs. Winters, are you alright?" The woman sat up and asked "What happened? I remember coming out of the theater and heading for my car and that's all." "We had a powerful aftershock and a lot of people fell when the earth seemed to slip back into place. You ladies must have fallen pretty hard and bumped your heads on the pavement or something. Let's get you to the hospital so you can be checked out." Sean said. "I think I'm alright. I couldn't have been out for more than a minute or two. I think I'll just go home and put an ice pack on my head. What are you doing here?" "We came to see the movie also and found you as we came out to the parking lot." Kathleen answered. Sean went to two of the other women while Spike assisted another. When they had put the women down on the pavement they more or less dropped them down so that they would have the injuries that would result from a fall. None of the women wanted to go to the hospital so Sean, Spike and Kathleen showed the expected concern.

            When they got back into Wesley's van Wesley asked "Do they remember anything about the attack?" "I wiped their memory of the incident when I put them to sleep. When they woke up again I searched their minds and they couldn't remember anything. Let's go home Uncle Wesley, I'm very tired."

            As they drove back home Kathleen fell asleep against Sean. "My poor girl, she is going to be even more tired tomorrow." Sean said as he held her under his arm. "Don't worry about her Sean, if she can make it through four years of collage in just two years she'll be fine. It's like her mother, Cordelia used to tell us all of the time 'The women of Angel Investigation are tougher than we think'."

            As Wesley pulled into the back parking lot of the hotel Kathleen woke up. She quickly went inside, practically tore her clothes off and crawled into bed, it was now 12:30 and she had to be up by at least 6 so she could get ready to go in to the hospital.

            The next morning as Kathleen came downstairs she found Spike and Connie at the kitchen table. Connie had an egg and bacon sandwich along with a cup of coffee in a travel mug ready for her. "Let's go Uncle Spike; Sean doesn't have to go in today so we'll go in my car. Thank you Connie." Kathleen said as she picked up her sandwich and coffee and was out the door in a small whirlwind that picked up Spike along with it and took him out the door. Spike just waved at Connie and picked up his large thermos of blood and was out the door with his coat over his head.

            The phone rang shortly after 7 a.m. in Connor's room. "Angel Investigations". "Connor this is Xander, have you seen the news yet?" "No, we had one of Kathleen's missions to go on last night and we were out late." "Well turn your TV on and you'll hear the best news of your life." Xander hung up then and Connor went to the couch and turned the TV on. When he saw what was on the TV he called Wesley up. "Wesley here." "Turn your TV on. It finally happened." Connor hung up and called out to Lou who was in the bathroom. "Lou, get out here as soon as you can." "What's wrong?" Lou asked as she came to the couch with her robe on. Connor just pointed to the TV.

**            Reporter: Last night just before midnight an aftershock took place that showed as a 6 on the Richter scale. The original earthquake was a 6.5. The epicenter of the earthquake took place in the same place as the first one, Sunnydale. (**The news team showed the big hole in the earth that used to be Sunnydale California**.) As you can see Sunnydale has almost completely sunk into the earth. The Army Core of Engineers stated last week that no one would be allowed back into Sunnydale because of the suspicion that this is exactly what would happen because of all of the caves that were under the town. They reported that it appears to have started at what used to be the High School and rapidly expanded outward until it almost reached the Pacific Ocean. There is only one mile that separates what is being called a sink hole and the ocean. **

**Fortunately, all of the town people had been evacuated of the last few residents. Sunnydale had been experiencing mild earth quakes for the last several years and people were afraid to continue living here. A major portion of the population had slowly left the town because of the caverns that they knew were under their beloved town. What will be done with the sink hole is unknown at this time. We'll continue to keep you updated as more information comes in.**

**Here in Los Angeles very little damage took place. **

As soon as the news was over you could hear a lot of shouting going on in the hotel. Everyone came out to the lobby and were cheering and laughing. After a few minutes of this Eddy, Bill, Nicky, Mike and Joyce all went to their rooms to finish getting dressed.  They were all currently enrolled at UCLA.   

When Kathleen saw the news on the television in the emergency waiting room she went looking for Spike to give him the news. He was just coming out of Surgery where he had assisted in a kidney transplant. Kathleen stuck her head in the room where they cleaned up.

"Dr. Summers, can I speak to you for a few minutes?" "I'll be there in a few minutes." Spike said as he finished cleaning himself up. "What's up?" He asked her as he came out. "Sunnydale was reported on the morning news as having sunk into the caverns under the town as a result of the earthquake this morning and last week. Xander and Anya are okay because he was the one that called Connor to tell him to watch the news." "Thank you for the news." Spike said then just turned and left. Kathleen looked at him as he walked away. She could sense his sadness at the news. She decided to let it go and not bother him any further on the subject.

That evening as they returned home in time for Supper they found everyone at the table was talking about the demise of Sunnydale. Spike just filled up a plate with food and poured himself a large mug of blood. Everyone noticed how quiet he was. They left him to his meal before asking anything.

"What's wrong Daddy? I thought you would be just as happy as the rest of us that the Hell Mouth is finally closed permanently." Joyce asked when she saw that her father was done eating.  He didn't answer her for awhile.

"I know that you're all happy about the Hell Mouth being closed but what I am thinking about is our home that was destroyed and that we'll never see again. I am remembering the first time that your mother let me sit and talk with her at her mother's house. I am remembering the house where your mother and I made love so often and as a result of that love we brought 3 babies home to grow up in. I am remembering all of the nights when my children would patrol Sunnydale and your mother and I were bursting with pride at how well you did and you would come home and tell us all about your fights and how many vampires you killed." Spike couldn't help the blood red tears that fell down his cheeks. He wiped them away with the back of his hands then got up to leave.

Later when everyone else had gone to bed Kathleen took a shoe box over to Spikes room and knocked on the door. "Come in Kathleen." She opened the door and stuck her head in. "Can I talked to you for a few minutes Uncle Spike." "Sure Kathleen come in and have a seat." Spike was sitting at the couch and watching TV to try to get his mind off of the house in Sunnydale. Kathleen came over and sat next to him and placed the shoe box on the coffee table.

"What's this?" "It's a present I made for you, open it." Spike took the lid off of the box and put it to the side. He looked inside and thought that she had made a model of a house. "Hold onto the box while I take it out." Spike did as she said and she pulled out the model and placed it on the coffee table. Spike looked at it carefully. As he looked at it he suddenly realized what the home was. "How did you make this?" "I didn't make it Uncle Spike. This is your home in Sunnydale. After the first earthquake Aunt Buffy asked me to take your house and miniaturize it so that you can always have your memories together with you at all times." Kathleen put her hand over the house and it slowly increased in size so that it was as large as the coffee table. Spike stared at it. He touched the grass and found that it felt real. Even the leaves on the trees moved. With his vampire hearing Spike could even hear the same branch that Buffy used to climb up to, to get to her former bedroom rubbing against the porch roof. Spike held onto Kathleen's hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Thank you Kathleen. I don't think that I've ever had a better present." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. Kathleen handed him a slip of paper. "These are the words that you will need to make it shrink down again and on the other side these words will make it larger but it won't grow any larger than it is now. I have to tell you though that you will have to leave it out in the daylight or else the plants will die. They will never grow but they will die and have to be watered and fed regularly." She gave him a kiss goodnight and stood up to leave. "Kathleen, can you make the lights work?" "No but you can talk to Joaquin to see if there is a way that you can hook it up to the house current so that it will light up each evening." She pointed to an electrical box that was in the corner of the front of the yard. "Did you notice this little box in the corner?" "Yes but I don't remember this being in our front yard." "It wasn't, I put it there so you could connect it to electricity and be able to have the lights turn on. The main cable that provides electricity to the house runs under ground and into this box." She left then and Spike said the words to shrink the house again. He took it out onto the balcony and laid it on the floor where it could get the sun it needed. Tomorrow he would get a table to place out here where he could sit and look at it.

TBC…………………..                          


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

            Three years later the Wolfram & Hart building was still standing. Spike had finished his residency in Surgery and was now also an OB/GYN. Kathleen was now a licensed Nurse Anesthetist. Joyce and Tom had postponed their wedding until after she graduated at the end of the school year. She was going to be going for a Masters in Education but not until after her wedding. Nicky and Mike were already working for the L.A.P.D. and Eddy and his brother Bill were on their last year of school. Both had decided to go for a full 4 year degree in Law Enforcement. Jerry Lee continued to work at Gunn's Kids with Fr. Maxwell and had already told his mother, Cylindia, that he would be going into the Seminary after he graduated from High School. Jeff, Hunters son, was currently just working with Connor and would be graduating from High School at the end of the year also but had not decided on what he wanted to do yet. David and Bobby, the Price boys, had decided on different paths. David studied Law Enforcement for 2 years then spent his time working with Connor. Bobby had his mother's gift for math and was working on his degree in Advanced Mathematics. 

            "Now that I'm a Nurse Anesthetist I think it's time for us to start on our family Sean." Kathleen said as they lay in bed. "Don't forget that I have to produce the next Seer." "I noticed the calendar in the bathroom and my nose says you're ripe for the taking but when did you stop taking your birth control pills?" "The day after my last period." Kathleen answered him as she started to kiss him. "Well let's get to creating then." Sean said as he started to kiss her back.

            As Sean worked his way over her body with kisses Kathleen ran her hands over his back. He took it slow at first but Kathleen started grabbing at his manhood in an effort to make him react faster to their lovemaking. "I see you don't want to take it slow and easy the first time." "No I want it now; we can take it slow and easy the second time and maybe even the third time." Sean started to pursue her firm, young, well rounded body more aggressively now. He ran his hands between her legs to see if she was ready for him. Kathleen responded by raising her legs over and around his back. He pushed himself into her repeatedly until he gave her what she wanted. When he was done he knew that she had not shared in his ecstasy because every time she did they would float in the air above the bed. He pulled out of her and lay on his back on the bed breathing heavily. Kathleen placed a pillow under her behind so that none of his semen would come out.

            "Do you think we were successful?" "If we weren't it wasn't for lack of trying. Why don't you rest for now my big Stud Muffin. Later tonight we can do it again." During the rest of the night they made love twice more and on the second time Sean was successful in making them float in the air above the bed.

            The next morning was Saturday and they didn't go downstairs until 9:30. Everyone else was done with their breakfast and just sitting around and having a last cup of coffee. "And what have you two been doing? Breakfast is almost over." Connor asked.

            "We, Mr. Martin, have been working on giving you a niece or nephew. So you'll understand if we're a little tired from all of last night's activities." "Why do you think that should give you an excuse to be late for breakfast? Lou and I were working on a third one last night and as you can see we are here way before you." Connor said with a smile. Kathleen just looked at her brother. She could do the same thing as Cordelia did. "Connor Martin you are lying to me. You're left eye always twitches when you tell a lie." "Alright, alright I was just kidding. Amateurs." Connor said the last part under his breath.

            Jeff cleared his throat loudly to get everyone's attention. "Mom and Uncle Wesley, I've decided on what I want to do with my life." He looked around the table and saw everyone looking at him. "I am very aware of how my own special abilities that I inherited from my Mother can put the people here at risk if anyone should find out about me and what I am capable of. I want to ask everyone in the family if I could go into the Navy and the Naval Academy. I plan on trying for the Navy Seals after I graduate from the Academy."

            Everyone was staring at Jeff with their mouths open. Wesley was the first one to speak. "Your grades more than qualify you to enter the Academy Jeff and I don't think it will be too big of a problem to get an appointment from a congressman. You are more than old enough to understand what you can talk about and what you can't talk about. The biggest problem is what will happen when you are hurt. The ability that all of the children of Vampires have inherited from their parent is to heal faster than a normal human and that is what will make you stand out more than anything else. Everything else you can control but when it comes to healing after an accident is what always gives us a problem. Everything that I have seen, read or heard about the Navy Seals tells me that you will have to come up against this problem sooner or later."

            Everyone at the table was quiet for awhile. Since no one said anything Kathleen said "Uncle Wesley and Connor, Grandma has told me that she is aware of Jeff's desire to enter the Navy and the Navy Seals and that we are not to worry about Jeff's ability to heal fast causing a problem. When and if the time comes everything will work out okay and we shouldn't worry about it too much. Jeff, when it comes time for you to start your training with the Navy Seals either you can come to me or I will come to you. I can dampen your ability to heal fast but I can't take it away completely because it's a part of you. When you are done with your training I'll have to return you to a normal state or else you could become very sick from having your natural abilities changed."

            "Does anyone else have anything to say about Jeff's choice?" Wesley asked. No one said anything. "I guess that's unanimous Jeff. You have my blessings." Connor said. He came over and shook Jeff's hand.

            "I am going to need your help Uncle Wesley with getting an appointment to the academy from our districts congressman." Jeff said. "I'll make a call to him today and find out what we have to do." Wesley came over and shook Jeff's hand also.

            Jeff turned to his mother. "You haven't said anything Momma." "If this is what you truly want to do Jeff I will support you and your choice. I'm going to miss having my little boy with me though but the time always comes when a fledgling has to leave the nest." Hunter kissed and hugged her son then picked up her dishes and took them to the kitchen. "I don't think my mother is very happy about my decision."

            "It's always hard on a woman Jeff. Your mother was alone for 4,000 years until your father came into her life. Then he died and now you're leaving her alone again. We'll be here though to help her get through this. She doesn't have to be truly alone anymore." Fred said.

            Everyone got up from the table and took their own dishes into the kitchen. Wesley went to his office and placed a call to the local Congressman. He had his number on his rolodex because he was a former client a few years ago. The Congressman told Wesley that there would be no problem in his recommending Jeff for the Naval Academy when the time came.

            Spike no longer worked every weekend. He was just on staff at the hospital and worked the weekends only when it was an emergency. Kathleen had given him some gray hair around his temples and wrinkles at the corners of his eyes in order to give him an appearance of aging. She had done the same for Hunter except she gave her a few streaks of gray hair and aged her face so that she looked to be around 40.

            Hunter knocked at Spikes door. "Come in Hunter." Hunter opened the door and saw Spike at his couch reading his copy of the American Medical Journal. She went to sit beside him. As of yet Spike had not taken Hunter up on her offer to join her in her bed if he should feel the need for companionship or sex. She needed his companionship desperately today though.

            "Spike, would you do me a favor?" "If I can." "Would you come to my bed tonight?  With Jeff's news this morning I find that I am in desperate need of comfort and someone to talk to. It has been so long since Mike died and three years since Buffy died. If you can't bring yourself to do it I'll understand. I just need someone to hold me tonight." Spike was quiet for awhile as he thought about it. "I'll come over tonight. It's been a long time for me also. It's been so long it may not work anymore." That last comment got a smile from Hunter. Spike kissed her on her cheek and Hunter got up and left and Spike returned to his magazine.

            That night the hotel was busy. After taking a shower Spike went over to Hunters door and knocked lightly. "Come in Spike." Hunter called out. Spike opened the door. It was dark in the room but he could easily see her in bed already. He closed the door and locked it then went to the bed and took his clothes off and slipped in beside her under the covers. He started to make love to Hunter. He almost called out Buffy's name but caught himself in time. For the first time both Spike and Hunter experienced the Vampire special. If it hadn't been for the fact that they both had their teeth into each other's neck they each would have vocalized their approval of the others technique.

            When they were done Spike lay back on the bed. They were both breathing heavily. They could both hear the same thing going on in the other rooms on the second floor. On the third floor there was more noise. Spike knew that one of those couples was his daughter Joyce and Tom. Even though Joyce didn't want to get married until after she graduated he knew that they were sleeping together on the weekends. Almost all of the single men were still out and most likely doing the same thing that was going on in the hotel. Spike turned to Hunter and pulled her into his arms and they both went to sleep. Later in the evening they awoke and had sex again but more slowly this time. The first time they had both wanted the feeling of the climax and the feeling of the Vampire special that they had been able to give to others but had never experienced themselves.

            The next morning they came down the stairs together. Spike filled his plate up with extra pancakes, margarine and syrup. Connie brought out a large table thermos full of blood for both of them. No one said anything about Hunter looking so contented and quiet.

            Connor was never one to pass up an opportunity to tease someone. "Remember Gunn telling us one time about how his Uncle and Aunt looked the day after he came back from Vietnam Wesley?" "Yes I believe he said that his mother told him not to bother them because she was pretty sure that they had been having a party of their own the previous evening." Everyone but the Summers' family was laughing. Spike saw the look on his children's faces.

            "Just because Hunter and I are finding companionship in each other doesn't mean that I have forgotten about your mother. I don't want to hear anything about this either." Spike finished his breakfast then. Hunter turned to Jeff who hadn't said anything.

            "Do you have anything to say about Spike and I spending some time together." "Heck no Momma I'm happy that you'll have someone to be with you now. I won't worry so much about you being alone when I leave." Jeff reached over and gave his mother a kiss and hugged her.

            Fred stood up then and took her plate into the kitchen. She stopped at the table as she was leaving. "Let's get going everyone or we'll be late for church."

            Everyone followed her example. Spike shoved the last of the pancakes into his mouth and took his plate in also then ran upstairs like the rest and got dressed for Church. The rest of the day was quiet and they all stopped at their usual restaurant after Church so that Connie could have the day off also. Usually if anyone was hungry in the evening they would go out or send someone to get food.

            That night Spike and Hunter spent the night together again and the next morning no one said anything. The Summers' children had all thought about what Jeff had said and realized that what he said was true. Spike needed someone to be with him and even though Joyce took care of her father it wasn't the same as having a companion to take care of him that he could talk to about personnel things.

            The days started early in the morning these days since most of the boys had jobs or school to attend to. After breakfast was over and everyone was just talking and having their last cup of coffee Joyce stood up and cleared her throat. "Daddy, Eddy, Bill and I talked about it yesterday and we want to apologize for the way we acted. We were being selfish and I guess we didn't think of your feelings at all. With a little help from Tom we came to realize that you have been alone now for three years and I am sure that Momma would agree that you should have someone to share your life with also. I know that you've been very lonely since Momma left us and since both you and Aunt Hunter are both alone you both can help each other. Besides since Tom and I are together she can help me by ironing your clothes. Doctors go through a lot of clothes and I'm really not comfortable buying your shorts and T-shirts for you." Everyone laughed at her last remark. Joyce went to her father and gave him a kiss and hug then went to Hunter and gave her a kiss and hug also.

            Everyone went to their respective jobs after that. Kathleen and Spike were working at the hospital today. Sean was going to be helping Hunter at the small clinic at Mrs. Benton's. The patients paid whatever they could afford. Connor and David were working on a new case and the rest were either going to work or school.

            While Wesley was in the office working with Tom on some Watchers Council business Fred stepped in for a second. "Did you need to speak to me?" Wesley asked as he looked up from the book they were reading. It was then that he noticed that Fred was crying. "What's wrong Fred?" "Wesley, I just got a call from my Mother. She said that Daddy had a heart attack last night and died early this morning." Wesley went to Fred and hugged her and took her over to the couch in the lobby. She cried for a good ten minutes before she was able to get herself under control.

            "I'll make reservations right now." Wesley gave Fred a kiss and went to his desk to start calling for the next flight to Texas. Wesley was able to get 3 first class tickets for early tomorrow morning. He knew that Bobby couldn't go because of classes but there shouldn't be any reason why David couldn't go. Fred had gone up to their room so Wesley went upstairs to be with her. Wesley's mother had passed away three years ago and he understood how she was feeling.

            "Fred I have to go to the bank and get some money. We'll be leaving on a 7 a.m. flight tomorrow so I want you to pack some bags for us. I'll call David and let him know what has happened and that he has to pack to go with us tomorrow morning." He gave Fred a kiss then left. On the way out he saw Joaquin and asked him to bring up some suitcases to his room. He told him and Connie about his father in-law then left.

            As soon as Wesley saw Connor when he came back from the bank he let him know what happened. "How long do you think you'll be gone?" "Hopefully only two weeks. I am going to try to talk Mrs. Burkle into moving here with us, she's 75 now and I am sure that the ranch is too big for her to run by herself now. We can give her Giles room if she comes home with us." Connor followed Wesley up to his rooms. He went in and gave Fred his condolences.

            "It seems that we have had too many deaths in our special family lately. I hope that Kathleen and Sean were successful in making their first baby. It will be good to hear the sound of new life in the hotel again." Fred said.  Connor gave her a kiss and hug again then left. In the evening before supper Wesley announced to everyone about Mr. Burkle's death. "Tom, you of course have control of the Watchers Council. Connor has access to the Agency's accounts and can take care of anything that may come up while we are gone. Fred and I are hoping to bring her mother back with us and as soon as I find out when and where the funeral will be I'll let Connor know."

            Kathleen gave her condolences to Fred then started the prayer and included Mr. Burkle in their prayer. The next morning Connor and Lou took Fred, Wesley and David to the airport at 4 in the morning. They stayed with them as they paid for their tickets then walked with them to security and said their good-byes.

            --

            At Wolfram & Hart the Warlocks and demons were reporting to the Senior Partners that they were sensing something different with the building. They said they could hear the steel beams creaking which was unusual. They had heard this before in much older buildings that were made of wood but never in steel constructed buildings. Those in charge could tell that they were scared especially since they lived there and never left. The Senior Partners told the CEO of Wolfram & Hart to have the building checked. The inspectors they called to check the building were busy ever since the earthquake and had a long list of buildings to inspect before they could get to them.

            --

            By Wednesday of the following week Wesley called. "Angel Investigations we help the hopeless Connor speaking." "Connor this is Wesley." "Hi, how is everything going? Is Mrs. Burkle okay?" "Yes, I just wanted to let you know that she'll be coming home with us. Would you ask Connie to clean Giles old room up? It's a long way from all of the noise in the hotel and she'll be able to get the peace and quiet that she is used to up there." "We'll take care of everything, when is your returning flight?" "I'll be coming back with Fred and her mother on Saturday at 5 in the evening on flight 1255 on Delta. David is going to be driving a moving van with his grandmother's things to L.A. so she can have her personnel things with her. She'll have her own furniture to put in the rooms so you can remove all of the furniture that's in there." "Okay Wesley we'll take care of it. I'll meet you at the airport on Saturday. Good-bye."

            Connor told everyone at the table that night about Mrs. Burkle coming to live with them. "That's good; we'll have someone to call Grandma again." Gabby said with a mischievous grin on her face. "I was going to start calling Aunt Hunter Grandma since she's the oldest one here but I decided not to since she might kill me." Gabby took off to the gym when Hunter started to get up. She got to her before she could make it to the doors though. Hunter started tickling Gabby so much that she cried out "Uncle, Uncle." "I'm not your Uncle, who am I?" "Aunt Hunter, Aunt Hunter." Hunter sat down again and let her go. "Your Momma and Daddy gave you the perfect name little girl. Gabby the talking girl talks too much that's why they call her Gabby the gabby girl." Everyone was laughing at the two of them. Gabby jumped on Hunter then and started tickling her. "Help Connor, your daughter is attacking me."  Connor went over and picked his daughter up off of Hunter. Let me go Daddy I have to go upstairs. Aunt Hunter made me laugh so hard that I wet myself. He let her go then and she went running up the stairs. When Hunter got up everyone could see that she had done the same thing. "I think you had better go upstairs also Hunter." She looked at her pants and went running upstairs also. Everyone was laughing at the two.

            When they both came back to finish their supper Hunter said "It's nice having a little girl in the hotel again after so many boys." "What's wrong with boys?" Jeff asked. "There's nothing wrong with boys it's just that girls are more gentle and quiet when they play and you boys were like a herd of elephants going through the hotel when you were home." "There were just more of us." Nicky said.  "That's true, but then we needed all of you boys so that you could take care of Angel Investigations when you grew up." Hunter said. "Fortunately it only takes one of us girls to be the Slayer and one to be the Seer. Not like you guys. It took 8 of you to replace Daddy, Uncle Gunn and Uncle Wesley." Kathleen said as she got up and took Sean's dishes and her own to the kitchen. Nicky looked like he was going to come back with another remark but then just sat back down and drank the rest of his coffee.

            The next morning was Thursday and Spike and Kathleen were working at the hospital. These days Spike only worked five days a week and tried to keep it down to eight hours a day when possible, most of the time though it wasn't possible. A major portion of his day was spent in the emergency room where he worked with most of the women that were ready to deliver but hadn't seen a doctor through most of their pregnancy because of a lack of money. He also frequently helped with the many real emergencies that resulted from gang fights, drunk drivers, drug addicts or domestic disputes.

            Thursday morning was no different except for the number of drug addicts that were being brought in. At 4:30 the police brought in a young man that was high on crack cocaine. He had been in a fight that resulted from a drug deal that had gone bad. He had blood all over his shirt from the man he had killed and his own blood from a wound to his head. With the drug affecting his thought processes he thought he was still on the street fighting. He was brought in by the EMTs and with the aid of the police he was transferred to an emergency room bed. As everyone gathered around the bed to treat him he thought there were more people coming in to kill him so he pulled out a knife he had in his boot. Spike was at the head of the bed and was the young man's first victim. He shoved the knife into his abdomen and when he pulled it out he pulled it out so that it sliced him sideways and opened the wound even more. The young man proceeded then to try to slice a nurse up but was stopped by Sean who had just walked in.

            Connor and Sean had just arrived to pick up Spike and Kathleen. Kathleen's car was in for a tune up so Connor had dropped them off in the morning and was now here to pick them up along with Sean. Sean had gone in to tell them their ride was here when he saw all of the commotion in the main emergency room. When he saw the patient stick Spike with the knife he came in and caught the young man's hand just as he was about to slice off the arm of one of the nurses. Kathy had been waiting at the nurse's station for Spike. When she saw what was going on she went in and grabbed a towel and gave it to Spike to hold over his wound. She quickly made most of the blood disappear and put a band around his waist to hold the towel in place. She stood beside him as Sean helped to restrain the young man again. He picked up the knife from the floor and handed it over to the police officer. "Please, next time check them thoroughly before bringing them in." The officer took the knife and thanked him for his help. He turned to the nurse's station and said "Are you two ready to go now?" "Just waiting on you hero." Spike said as normally as he possibly could. He tried not to lean on Kathleen too heavily as they walked out to the van.

            As they approached the van Connor made the side door open. Spike pulled on the last of his strength to get in. Kathleen quickly got in on the other side and helped to strap him into the seat with the seatbelt. When they were done Sean closed the door and jumped into the passenger side of the front seat. Connor had smelled the blood on Spike so he took off as soon as everyone was in.

            Traffic was heavy since it was the rush hour and it took them almost an hour to get home. If Spike had been completely human he would have been dead by now. Connor pulled up to the back and Sean jumped out and quickly opened the side of the van and picked up Spike in his arms. Kathleen ran in front of him to open the doors. Sean had called ahead to let everyone know what had happened. Hunter was in the clinic waiting for them. She had everything ready to perform surgery.

            Joyce and her brothers came running in from the back as soon as they got back from school. After Hunter got off of the phone with Sean she had called Joyce and her brothers on their cell phones.

            As soon as Sean put Spike on the exam bed Kathleen got ready to anesthetize him while Sean started to clean up and put a cap and gown on. Hunter and Cylindia stripped Spike and prepared him for surgery. When they removed the makeshift bandage that Kathleen had put on him they could see his intestines were protruding from the knife wound.

            Everyone was waiting outside in the lobby. Joyce sat between Connor and Lou as they waited. She had been crying none stop. "He'll be alright Joyce. Don't forget that he can only die by one of three ways." Connor said as he put his arm around her. "Yes, that's true. I keep forgetting that he is a Vampire. Most of the time I just think of him as my Daddy." Joyce said with a slight grin then wiped her tears away and blew her nose.

            Three hours later Sean came outside with Hunter. Everyone stood up to hear the good or bad news. "He was in pretty bad shape Connor." Sean looked directly at Joyce and her brothers. "The young man that stabbed him sliced him up pretty bad and when we took the makeshift bandage off that Kathleen had put on him we found his intestines protruding. We were able to put him back together again and sewed him back up. He lost a lot of blood though and we gave him what we had. Connor, would you go to the blood bank and pick up 10 bags of O Positive that I ordered? He needs human blood to heal and regain his strength." "Is he going to be alright?" Joyce asked. Sean took her hands in his and said "Yes, he'll be alright but he's going to take a long time to heal I think. At least longer than what he is used to. His lower intestines were full and spilled into the surrounding area when the knife cut into him. I cleaned him up but there is always a chance that I missed some. He's being given strong antibiotics right now to fight infection. Hopefully his demon will take care of anything I might have missed. Eddy and Bill would you come in and help us transfer him to the hospital bed we have in there?"

            The boys followed Sean into the clinic. They stopped and stared at their father. He looked so helpless, just like their mother did before she died. Sean came over to them and put his arms around their shoulders. "He'll be alright Eddy and Bill. He won't die for a long time I think. Eddy, you come with me and Cylindia, Bill and Hunter can get on the other side."

            Everyone got into position and slid Spike over onto the hospital bed as Sean said. They pushed the bed over to the corner where they had created a curtained off area. Kathleen was adjusting all of the tubes going in and out of him. Because of the injury to his intestines Sean had hooked him up to a colostomy bag and Cylindia had put a catheter in him. A tube was also going directly into his stomach so that they could feed him blood. When Connor came back with the blood from the blood bank they started replacing the rest of his blood that he had lost. They also hooked up one of the bags of human blood to feed him. From past experience Sean knew that a Vampires demon needed human blood to help their host body heal.

            "Let's keep a constant eye on him everybody. From what I've read about Angel in Dr. Martin's records we probably will have to deal with Spikes temperature going way up and we have to be ready when it does. Let's watch over him in four hour shifts and check him frequently with just our hands to see if he is getting hot. The moment his temperature starts going up let everyone know so we can put him in the tub over here. I'll let Joaquin know that we'll need to stock up on as many bags of ice as the freezers can hold." "We won't need to do that. Angel never seemed to be affected by the seizures he went through. Mary talked to Angelus about the seizures and we found that it didn't make any difference whether we worked to get his temperature down or not. After that we would just restrain him and let him go at it." Hunter said.

            "I'll take the first shift Kathleen since you were working today. Maybe Dr. Hunter can relieve me in four hours." Cylindia said. "I'll watch him thru the night then and one of you can relieve me the next morning then." Hunter said. They all agreed to that set up and Sean checked Spike one last time before leaving. "Okay Cylindia I'll be in later before we go to bed to check on him." Sean said then he followed Kathleen out to the dining room where everyone else was sitting down to eat.

            "How is he doing Sean?" Connor asked. "As the saying goes 'So Far So Good' but we are going to be keeping a watch on him around the clock for awhile. We are going to keep a constant watch on him until he has what I have been told they call his healing seizures and he starts to show healing. Does anyone know why he would have high temperatures?"

            "The last time Dr. Martin talked to Angelus, Angel's demon, he said it had to do with the body's natural electrical system. As Angel became more human his own electrical system would rebel at Angelus healing him so fast and would cause his temperature to go real high just as though too much electricity was going thru his body." Hunter said. "As we become more human we'll have to go thru the same thing also if we get hurt bad enough."

            Later that evening as everyone was going to their own rooms Hunter went into the clinic and relieved Cylindia. "How has he been doing?" "Okay, his vitals are all stable and his temperature is normal. He has been putting out urine so that function is working okay." "That's good I'll take over now." Cylindia said goodnight and left to get something to eat and take to her room.

            Hunter put her hand on Spikes head to check his temperature. It felt a little warm for him but she wasn't going to start worrying yet. As she was standing over him Spike started to wake up.

            "Hello, how are you feeling?" "Like someone tried to cut me in half. How bad was the damage?" "Well it turns out that he did almost cut you in half. When we got you on the table and removed the makeshift bandage that Kathleen created we found your intestines protruding from the wound. The knife also almost sliced your lower intestine in half. We have you on a colostomy bag and a catheter in you. Your bladder and kidneys are doing okay because you're putting out urine in a sufficient quantity and it looks okay. The big problem remains infection from when he sliced open your intestine. We have you on heavy antibiotics right now and someone will be with you around the clock. It's my turn right now and I'll be with you through the night. Go to sleep now Spike." Spike closed his eyes and did as he was told.

            The next morning was Saturday so Kathleen took over from Hunter. Sean had come down with her and was checking the surgical area when Spike woke up.

            "How am I doing Doc?" "Not too good Spike. You should have shown some healing by now." "Don't worry about it too much Sean. When Mary and I were taking care of Angel it would always happen like this. When he was crucified it took him about 9 days before Angelus could help him. Mary and I talked about it shortly before she was killed. We finally figured it out that the worse the damage was the longer it would take for Angelus to start healing him. We were never sure though if it was just that Angelus liked watching Angel suffer or if it actually took longer." Spike's eyes were drooping now.

            "We'll find out now if it was Angelus being an S.O.B. or if the degree of the injury made a difference. Go to sleep now Spike. Kathleen will be with you for the next 4 hours then I'll take over." The monitors and his own hearing told him that he had gone back to sleep.

            "I'll bring our breakfast over here to eat in a few minutes, okay?" "Okay, get me two eggs with toast and a couple of sausages." "Yes Dear." Sean left then and almost ran into Joyce as he turned around to leave. She had been standing at the door and heard the conversation with her father.

            "How is my father doing Kathleen?" "He's doing okay for now. He woke up for awhile and was talking." "I heard about how Uncle Angel would have bad seizures when he was hurt, has Daddy had a seizure yet?" "No but we're keeping a close eye on him." Joyce went over to the other side of the bed and took her father's hand in hers and kissed it. "Don't leave us yet Daddy." She left when Sean came back in.

            Sean put the tray of food down on his desk and Kathleen came over to eat. Sean watched her as she ate. She was shoveling the food in as fast as she could. "Kathleen slow down or you'll make yourself sick." In response Kathleen jumped up and ran to the sink in the clinic and vomited her breakfast. A minute later Sean went running for the bathroom under the stairs. When he came back he found Kathleen holding a cold cloth over her face as she was bent over. He took a seat across from her. "I am pretty sure that we were successful in making our first baby Kathleen." "Me too." Sean's head was hurting so much that he remained sitting as he called out for Hunter.

            Hunter came running in from the dining room. She knew what was wrong as soon as she saw both Kathleen and Sean with their heads on the desk and a cold cloth on the back of their necks. "Well I think I have a pretty good idea as to what condition Kathleen is in. I'll call Lou and see if she can get some of the special tea that has served everyone so well." Hunter checked on Spike and then called Lou.

            Lou went to the herbalist right away and was back with a small package full of the tea in just 30 minutes. She made some tea then took it into the clinic and gave it to Kathleen. "Drink it slowly Kathleen because it's hot." Kathleen drank the tea as she was told and after 10 minutes she started feeling better.

            "I think I'll go lie down for a little bit." Kathleen said. Sean followed her upstairs as soon as his head stopped pounding enough for him to stand up. Hunter heard some noise from the corner of the clinic and went over to check on Spike.

            "I see Angel's first grandchild is now in the works." Spike said with a weak smile. "Yes it seems that their baby making activities were successful. How are you feeling?" "Still very sore I don't think Billy has been able to make me heal yet." "Let me give you a bag of human blood and see if that will encourage him to get busy." While the blood was going into Spikes stomach Hunter checked the surgical area. "Well your healing but at a normal human rate. I don't think that you're going to be ready to go to work on Monday so you better start thinking of an excuse to give for your not being able to go in." When the bag of blood was empty Hunter removed the tube going into his stomach also. "I think you'll be able to drink your blood from now on. I am going to tell Connie that no matter how much you plead with her she is not to give you any solid food until your demon starts helping you to heal." "Yes Ma'am." Spike said with a smile.

            Kathleen came in a few minutes later to relieve Hunter. "How is Angel's princess feeling now?" Hunter asked. "Better than I was 30 minutes ago. That tea is a life saver. I can take over now Aunt Hunter so you can go and get some sleep." "Okay, as long as you're sure you're okay now." Kathleen was reading Spikes chart as Hunter left.

            "Never in a million years would I think that Angel's princes would be taking care of me one day." "Don't worry Uncle Spike, Daddy raised a very smart and gentle, I might add, daughter." Kathleen proceeded to check the urine bag and colostomy bag as well. Everything looked okay and she made the notations on the chart.

            "Do you mind having some visitors?" "My children?" "Yes, I think they would be reassured if they could see and talk to you for a minute." "Yes go ahead and call them down."

            Kathleen called up to Joyce's room and told her to get her brothers so they could visit with their father for a few minutes. Within just a few minutes she heard a lot of noise from the stairs. Joyce, Eddie and Bill came into the clinic and approached the bed quietly. Spike had his eyes closed as his children approached the bed. "I thought you said he was awake Kathleen."

            "I am awake Joyce." She went over to the bed and picked up his hand and kissed his cheek. "How are you doing Daddy? Are you making life hard on Kathleen?" "No she seems to be doing just fine on her own." Joyce looked at Kathleen. "What does he mean?" "I'll tell everyone tonight and that's all you're going to get out of me."

            "Kathleen." Spike called out to her. She came over to the side of the bed and felt his head. "Uncle Spike you're starting to get warm." She took his temperature, it was 102. "I think your demon has finally decided to help you. We're going to strap you down just in case this is it."  Hunter and Sean had already brought out the straps and had them attached to the bed. Through the link they shared Kathleen called out to Sean to let him know that Spike was starting to get warm.

            "Eddie, Joyce and Bill I want you to attach the straps that are hanging down from the bed, to your father's legs and arms. Put them on tight enough so that he can't move." Kathleen put another strap around Spikes chest but didn't put it on too tight. She took two tongue depressors then and wrapped tape around them so she could put it in his mouth when the seizure started. By the time they were finished Sean and Hunter came running into the clinic.

            "What was his last temperature reading?" Sean asked. "102." Kathleen reported. Sean and Hunter double checked the straps to make sure they were tight enough. Hunter took Spikes temperature again. Everyone looked at her for the latest reading. "It won't be long now it's up to 105." Hunter wiped down Spikes forehead with a towel. "I've never gone through this before Hunter. Is it painful?" "No Spike. Angel never could remember what happened afterwards." Spike started to breathe faster. "Send my children out Sean I don't want them to see me going through this." "Okay Spike." Sean looked at them and told them to step out into the lobby. They hesitated at first then turned and left.

            Within a few minutes Spike's hands started to shake. Hunter placed the wrapped tongue depressor in his mouth just in time. Sean was worried about the surgical wound so he leaned over Spikes stomach so that he wouldn't injure himself. The seizure lasted a good five minutes. When it was over Hunter removed the tongue depressor and Kathleen and Sean removed the straps. After a few minutes Spike opened his eyes. It took him a while to focus in on Hunter. "Is it over?" "Yes you did just fine. How are you feeling now?" "My muscles feel like I just went through a fight with a couple dozen demons." Sean removed the bandages off of his abdomen. He could see fine lines of electricity dancing across the line where Spike was cut so he removed the bandage. Kathleen checked his vitals and wrote them down on his chart then showed them to Sean. "It looks like your demon has you well on the way to recovery now Spike." "Can I go to my own bed now?" "No not yet I want to make sure that you're healing inside before I let you go upstairs." "Okay." Is all he said and in the next moment he was asleep.

            Kathleen went to the lobby. Everyone had come down when they saw or heard Sean and Hunter running into the clinic. She told everyone that he finally went through the seizure and was healing like a good vampire should. Everyone gave a sigh of relief then left to return to whatever they were doing before.

            "Now that we know that Spike is okay, Lou and I will be leaving to pick up Wesley, Fred and her mother." Connor said. Lou and Connor left then. Gabby heard her mother and father saying that they were going someplace and went running after them. "Can I come, can I come?" Gabby ran out the door after them yelling. Connor turned around when he heard his daughter yelling at him. "Sure, why not." Connor picked her up and went back to the hotel to let them know that Gabby was going with them. The first person he saw was Connie so he let her know then they left for the airport.

            They arrived at the airport at 5 and found Wesley, Fred and Mrs. Burkle waiting out in the front of the pickup side of the airport with their luggage. Lou and Connor jumped out and greeted everyone. Gabby had been told to stay in the van.

            "We better get going Connor before they give you a ticket." Connor and Wesley loaded up the luggage then helped Fred and her mother into the van. Gabby climbed into the back so she could sit between them.

            "May I ask who this young lady is?" Mrs. Burkle asked. "My name is Amelie Gabriel Martin and I am my Daddy's princes and my mother's pain in the neck." Everyone was laughing so hard that Connor almost couldn't see where he was going. When Mrs. Burkle was able to stop laughing she said "I'm sure you're not really your mother's pain in the neck." "Oh yes I am. Every time I start asking a lot of questions like why is the sky blue and why do people say that the rain is falling when it's impossible for the rain to go up. That's when she says Amelie Gabriel Martin you are a pain in the neck." She said it like she was very proud of the title.

            "Now that you are going to live with us can Daniel and I call you Grandma?" "I think that I would like that very much." "I am very sorry to hear that Aunt Fred's Daddy died. Do you miss him?" "Thank you for saying that and yes I miss him very much." "Well now that you are coming to live with us you will have lots of people to love you and take care of you and if you get lonely at night you can come and sleep with me okay." "Okay I'll remember that." Mrs. Burkle gave her a kiss and held her close to her.

            "Now you know why we call her Gabby." Fred said. "It will be nice to hear the sound of children again. You were always so quiet when you were a child. Most of the time you had your nose in a book or you were running around helping with the livestock."

            They made it to the hotel within 30 minutes. Connor pulled up to the back where everyone could unload the luggage easily. Everyone came over to greet Fred, Wesley and Mrs. Burkle and give their condolences.

            "Is Spike working?" Wesley asked. "Didn't Connor tell you what happened to him?" Kathleen said. "No, I'm sorry Wesley. We were laughing so hard at what Gabby was saying that I totally forgot. Spike was stabbed by a patient that almost sliced him in half. He's over in the clinic. Wesley and Fred almost ran over to the clinic. Hunter was sitting with him while he slept but then all of the noise woke him up.

            "How are you doing Spike?" Wesley asked. "A lot better than I was yesterday, now that my demon has finally decided to heal me." "What happened to you anyway?" Connor asked. "A young kid was brought into the emergency room that was full of drugs. I guess he thought we were attacking him because he pulled a knife out of somewhere and stuck it in me. When he pulled it out he almost sliced me in half. If it wasn't for Kathleen I would have been bleeding all over the emergency room floor. Sean just happened to be there to pick us up and was able to help restrain him while Kathleen supplied a temporary bandage for me so my intestines wouldn't end up on the floor. I just went through one of those healing seizures a couple of hours ago. I want to go to my own bed now Sean." "I'll stay with him Sean." Hunter said.

            "I guess its okay then. You know what to watch out for?" "Yes, but we won't know if he has healed all of the way until we give him something solid to eat." Hunter said. "Let's take an X-ray first then we can let him go upstairs."

            As soon as they were done taking the X-rays Sean called in Eddy and Bill to come and help their father upstairs. Sean helped him down from the table and helped him to put a robe on then he sat down in the wheelchair Eddy was holding for him. Hunter walked along with them. As they went into the lobby Spike noticed Mrs. Burkle for the first time. He told Eddy to go over to her.

            Spike took her hand in his and kissed it. "I'm sorry to hear about your husband Mrs. Burkle." "Thank you Dr. Summers." "Please call me Spike." "Okay Spike." Eddy and Bill took their father over to the elevator then and up to his room where they helped him to get into bed.

            "Are you hungry for some solid food Spike or would you like to sleep some more right now?" "I think I'll sleep until supper then Eddy and Bill can help me walk down to the dining room." "Okay. You boys can leave now I'll stay with him to make sure that he doesn't do anything he shouldn't be doing." Hunter said as she tucked Spike in.

            Downstairs Mrs. Burkle was being introduced to everyone that had never met her before.

            "Come on Momma and I'll show you where you'll be staying until all of your furniture gets here. Your apartment will be up on the fifth floor but until we can move you in there you'll stay in 412. Dr. Martin used to use it as her psychiatrist office but it's just used by Fr. Maxwell once in awhile now." "I'm not going to be inconveniencing him am I?" "No he just uses it for teaching and for talking to people that he wants to talk to into the late hours of the morning." "It seems odd not having Angel and Cordelia here. Your father and I haven't been here since their funeral." Fred didn't say anything more. Her mother's statement had brought back too many memories. Connor, Nicky and Mike helped Wesley take up the luggage. Gabby insisted on showing her new grandma to her temporary room so she took her hand and pulled her along.

            "This is where you're going to sleep tonight grandma. Fr. Maxwell sleeps in here sometimes when he is visiting too late but I'll tell him he has to sleep someplace else if he has to stay okay grandma?" "I hope he doesn't mind my taking his room until my furniture gets here." "I don't think so Grandma he is very understanding. He is the only one that doesn't say 'I can't understand you Gabby; you'll have to speak more clearly'. "He sounds very nice." "Oh he is Grandma." "Let's let Grandma rest now Gabby." Lou took her daughters hand and started walking out of the door. "You rest now Grandma and I'll see you at Supper okay?"

            "Wow! I haven't heard that much talking coming from a little girl since Lloyd's daughter came to a barbeque at the end of the branding season." "Who is Lloyd?" Fred asked her mother. "Don't you remember Lloyd? He manages the ranch for us now but he was a young teenage boy when you left to come to California and go to school. His father said he had a big crush on you."

            Fred left shortly after Lou and Gabby left so her mother could get some rest before Supper.  At 6:45 Hunter was helping Spike to get dressed so he could join the rest for Supper. He was still sore from the surgery so Hunter had to help him take a shower and get dressed. At 7 they came down the stairs together. Mrs. Burkle had used the elevator to come down to dinner and was sitting at the table already. They gave her the chair that was next to the end and opposite of Fred. As the oldest of the AI team Wesley now occupied the chair at the end and opposite of Connor. Spike sat down next to Hunters seat while she gathered up his and her food. Everyone noticed how she waited on Spike as though he were her husband. Except for Hunter and Spike Fred had already introduced everyone to her mother.

            "Spike and Hunter this is my mother Trish Burkle. Mother this is Spike Summers and Joyce's, Eddy and Bills father. Micaleb Hunter is Jeff's mother. The adults address her as Hunter and the children call her Aunt Mickey. Both Spike and Hunter are doctors. Hunter is an MD and is our specialist in Vampire physiology while Spike is a surgeon and an OB/GYN like Sean."  "My you do have an over abundance of doctors here. My daughter told me about your injury Dr. Summers, how are you feeling now?" "Please call me Spike Mrs. Burkle we don't use any titles at home. As to my injury I am doing a lot better thank you for asking." "Please call me Trish everyone, except for my grandchildren that is." "What about Daniel and me Grandma? You said I could call you grandma." "Oh yes, you and Daniel can call me grandma also."

            "I guess I might as well tell everyone now that Sean and I will be expecting our first child at the end of May or June of next year." Kathleen said. Everyone congratulated them. Connor came over and gave his sister a kiss and hug. "I guess your baby making activities were successful." Nicky and Mike came over and gave their sister a kiss and hug also and shook Sean's hand.

            "Are you having morning sickness yet Kathleen?" Trish asked. "They both are." Hunter told everyone. "Thanks to that Herbal tea though she is doing okay, the first time was terrible though. I got a glimpse as to what Angel went through. It's not something I want to experience again anytime soon." Sean said. The women were all laughing at him. "You know Sean I didn't know how vicious women can be until we heard that Angel was going through the same thing that Cordelia was. Whenever we get a woman in here that is told about all of the suffering that he had to go through they would always start laughing over his predicament." Wesley said. "You say that as though we women were the only ones having a good laugh over his predicament. As I recall you and Connor were the first ones to have a good laugh over it." Fred said. "Yeah but I didn't think it was so funny when I saw him suffering so much when Cordelia delivered Kathleen. All I can say Sean is make sure you cut the link you have together after the first contraction. I think it's like Dr. Martin told us 'Men just aren't made to suffer that kind of pain for any length of time'."

            Sean put his arm around Kathleen's shoulder and said "Don't worry Wesley I already know that I have to cut the link if I expect to deliver our children."

            Fred stood up then and started picking up the dishes. Everyone else took the hint and took their dishes in also. With everyone helping they had the dining room and kitchen cleaned, the food put away and the dish washer running within 15 minutes. Connie and Joaquin were getting older along with the rest and the women had all decided to help Connie more with the cleaning. She used to be responsible for cleaning the hallways on all 5 stories of the hotel but each of the women took one floor to be responsible for. At least one of them would help with the cooking of the supper every night. The only washing she did was the cleaning of sheets and towels otherwise Fred took care of her sons washing but they were taught to iron their own clothes. Kathleen and Lou took care of Nicky's and Mike's clothes and Hunter took care of Jeff's and Peters clothes. Leilani, Peter's daughter, was continuing to live with her grandparents in Hawaii.

            The next day was Sunday and everyone, including Spike, went to church. When they got back Sean paid a visit to Spike and Hunter in their room. Hunter had moved a lot of her things into Spikes room since they spent so much time together now. Hunter enjoyed having someone to take care of again and Spike enjoyed having her take care of him.

            Sean knocked at the door lightly because everyone in the hotel usually took a nap after coming back from the restaurant that they usually went to after church. "Come in Sean." Spike yelled. "How are you doing Spike?" "Okay I'm just a little uncomfortable now." "Well I brought you something to use so that you won't be so uncomfortable." Sean gave him a box of stool softeners. "I want you to use these for the next week. You can't afford to put your intestines under any stress." "How long do you think it will take before I can go back to work?" "I don't know this is new territory for me. What do you think Hunter?" "At least 1 week. You don't want to be using those things when you go back to work and you find yourself having to leave surgery just so you can go to the bathroom too often." Hunter answered with a smile. Sean left with a smile on his face then.

            Several days later before supper Kathleen was upstairs looking through her closet. Sean came in looking for her. "What are you doing?" "Looking for my wedding dress and the suit you put on after the wedding." "What are you looking for those for?" "I want to see if we can still get into them. Here's your suite." She gave him the suit that had a plastic wrapper on it from being dry cleaned. She pulled out her wedding dress and started to get undressed so she could see if the dress still fit. When she saw Sean just standing there and looking at the suit she said "Try it on Sean to see if you can still fit in it." He started to get undressed and put the suit on. Both the suit and dress slipped on just as though they had just bought them.

            "What made you want to try these on?" "Do you remember what tomorrow is?" "Yes, our Anniversary." "I want to do something that my mother and father did every once in awhile." "What's that?" "You'll find out tonight after midnight. Now get undressed and make sure you put your clothes on a hanger so it doesn't wrinkle." Sean dutifully did as she said and got dressed again. When Kathleen was dressed they went downstairs for Supper.

            After they had all finished their supper Connor leaned back in his chair and drinking the last of his coffee. "So what are you doing for Kathleen tomorrow Sean? It's your Anniversary, just in case you forgot." "It's a secret." Sean said with a twinkle in his eyes.

            "Is anyone going to be missing for Supper tomorrow?" Connie asked. "We'll be having our Supper in our room tomorrow night Connie that is unless Sean has other plans." Kathleen answered. "We won't be here Connie." Sean said. "And where are we going to be?" "It's a secret." Sean said again.

            "Well since my plans are for tonight at midnight I am going to go and get some sleep. No telling how long we'll be up tonight." She got up and took her place setting and Sean's into the kitchen while everyone else followed her example.

            At exactly 12 midnight the alarm that Kathleen had set went off. Sean was still sleeping so she went into the bathroom and worked on styling her hair and putting her makeup on. Thirty minutes later she came out of the bathroom and kissed Sean on his cheek. As she saw his eyes starting to move under his eyelids she kissed him again and said "Wake up Sean." "Is it midnight?" "It's 30 minutes after midnight. I want you to get up and put your suit on for me." "Okay." He rubbed his eyes and finally realized that Kathleen was wearing her hair in the same way she did on their wedding night. He rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom to shave then came out and put his suit on. Kathleen was already wearing her wedding dress when he came out. She waited patiently as he got dressed. When she gave her final approval she took his hand and guided him downstairs. When they got there Sean saw candles lit all around the lobby along with just the center light on low.

            "Stand right here Sean and don't move." "Yes Ma'am." Sean said as he saluted. Kathleen went over to the lobby counter and turned on a CD player then went back to him.

            "Sean, my mother and father would often dress up in their wedding clothes and dance to this song from Patsy Cline. It's called True Love. Just as my mother and father did I want to dance to this song on our Anniversary." Sean in answer kissed her on her forehead carefully then started to waltz around the lobby with her. Just as they always did with Angel and Cordelia, everyone came out to the second floor balcony and watched Kathleen and Sean dance.

            For the next 30 minutes Sean and Kathleen waltzed to the song as it played over and over again. When he finally stopped he picked her up in his arms and started up the stairs. Kathleen magically blew the candles out and turned the lights off along with the CD player as Sean carried her upstairs and to their bedroom. After they made love Sean laid his head on Kathleen's stomach and tried to listen for a heat beat. It was very faint but he could hear the rapid beat of his child's heart. He kissed her stomach then went to sleep also.

TBC…………………………


	13. Chapter 13

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to finish this chapter. I had to move at the end of September and I have been busy trying to find a place for everything. I moved from a larger apartment to a small home. I sacrificed space so that my dogs could have a large yard to run in. It's not easy fitting everything into a smaller space. We had to either give away or throw away a lot of stuff. Thanks for being patient and I hope to finish the story by the end of this year.

Chapter 13

The next morning Sean woke up first. He looked down at his wife and kissed her on each eye gently. "Wake up my sweet." Kathleen slowly opened her eyes and kissed Sean. "Happy Anniversary Kathleen." "Happy Anniversary Sean. What time is it?" "It's 8 o'clock. We have to get up now so I can give you your first Anniversary present." "You mean I get more than one?" "Yes you get more than one." Kathleen jumped up than and ran to the bathroom to take a shower. Sean joined her after he heard the toilet flush. They quickly took a shower and dressed to go downstairs for breakfast. Everyone else was at the table and said in unison "Happy Anniversary Sean and Kathleen." "Thank you." They both answered. Sean pulled out Kathleen's chair for her. "Sit down Kathleen and I'll get our food for us. I will wait on you this morning my dear." Sean went to the sideboard and put some pancakes and a couple of sausages on hers and his plate along with some scrambled eggs. After he sat down he poured her a glass of milk and a mug of blood for himself.

After they were done and Kathleen was having her special tea she asked Sean "So where is my first present?" "Would you tell Angus to bring her present Connor?" Connor called Angus. He was outside and came through the doggy door. After he came in he stuck his head outside again and you could tell that he was picking something up to bring in. With only a little difficulty Angus pulled something in and put it on the floor then walked towards Connor. Connor told him to go to Kathleen. She could tell that something was beside him but his and Penny's body was blocking her view.

"What do we have here Angus?" As Angus and Penny sat in front of Kathleen a little black nose looked around Angus. Sean bent down and picked up what was attached to the black nose. "Happy Anniversary Kathleen. This is Lorna Doon. She is a Border Collie. " He placed a little black and white bundle of fur into her arms. "Oh Sean she's beautiful." She reached over and kissed him.

"Daddy's been hiding her in his room since yesterday and I was playing with her all day. I took real good care of her Aunt Kathleen but Mommy had to clean up after her when she had an accident. She slept with Angus all night though and I slept in my own bed. I brushed her real good for you." Gabby said. "Thank you for taking care of her. I'm sure you did a real good job." Kathleen looked straight into Lorna's eyes and Lorna started to lick her face all over within the next few seconds.

"I bought her from a breeder over in the San Dimas area where they have a small flock of sheep. I borrowed Hunters ring so I could choose the right puppy since it had to accept me as a vampire. She comes from a long line of sheep herders and her pedigree has a lot of champions."

"Have you tried looking into her mind yet?" Kathleen asked Connor. "No not yet." "I did after she had an accident in the room. She gave me a picture of the back yard and Angus and Penny so I took her out. That was the last time she had an accident." Connor said. "Does Gabby know how to do it?" "I haven't asked her to try yet." Connor called his daughter over to him then he went over to stand by Kathleen.

"Gabby, I want you to try to look into Lorna's mind." "I already tried it Daddy when you did it." "Could you talk to her in her mind?" "No Daddy. I tried real hard. I looked at her real hard but I couldn't see what she was thinking." "Did you see anything at all in her mind?" "I saw her looking at you and that's all." "You did just fine then." "But I tried talking to her and she didn't say anything to me." "She can't really talk to you Gabby she can only give you pictures. For instance when she is hungry she may give you a picture of her food dish or water dish when their empty. That will be her way of telling you that she is hungry or thirsty." Kathleen said. Gabby looked at Lorna's eyes and looked into her mind. "She says she wants to go outside to play with Angus and Penny now." Kathleen put Lorna down and Gabby and the dogs went outside.

"Now for your second present my dear. I want you to pack a couple of bags for us because tonight we are going to Las Vegas with Connor and Lou for a few days." Kathleen jumped up and screamed. She kissed Sean all over his face then ran over to Lou and Connor and hugged them then went back to Sean. "You're the best husband ever." Kathleen said as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him again. Everyone was laughing at her.

Kathleen was even more surprised when she found out that Sean had reserved a private jet to take them to Vegas. When they landed they had a long white limousine waiting for them. Sean started their stay in Vegas with champagne that he served to everyone. He filled up his, Connors and Lou's glasses but only gave Kathleen half because of her pregnancy. The driver went directly to the MGM Mirage Hotel and Casino. A porter took their luggage and Sean's small locked ice chest out of the trunk and followed them to the registration counter.

"Hello I am Dr. Sean McConnell I called to reserve your penthouse suite for the next 4 nights." "Yes Dr. McConnell we've been waiting for you. Here are your card keys and the porter will take you up to your suite. Everything that you ordered is already set up in the suite. I hope you have a pleasant stay with us and if you need anything please don't hesitate to call." "Thank you." Sean said as he took the cards and the porter took them up to the top of the hotel where the penthouse suite was. Lou and Kathleen could just barely contain themselves while the porter was there. He quickly showed them all of the accommodations then left. As soon as he did Kathleen and Lou started jumping up and down and laughing like a couple of school girls.

Sean took the Master bedroom since this was there Anniversary. Both bedrooms had a king size bed in it but only the Master bedroom had a whirlpool bath.

Kathleen threw herself on the bed. "It's so soft Sean. Come and feel it." Sean laid down beside her. After a few minutes he asked "Are you happy?" She turned over to her side and pulled herself up beside him. She kissed him over and over again. "This is how happy I am." She gave him another long passionate kiss. "I would do more but I am anxious to lose my first hundred dollars."

Kathleen ran into the bathroom and freshened up. When she came out she grabbed Sean's hand and pulled him to the door. She ran to Lou's door and knocked on it. "Come on Lou and Connor it's time to start doing what we came here for." Lou and Connor came out and started for the door. "Does everyone have their key cards?" Sean asked. The ladies checked their purses and Connor pulled out his. "Kathleen I want you to promise me that you won't use magic to win while we are here." "I promise." Connor looked at her. He remembered how Cordelia would cross her fingers and said that it crosses out anything she said so it was okay to lie. "Kathleen, show me your hands." Connor said. She hesitated at first then put her hands out in front of her. "Now promise Sean that you won't use magic to win while we are here." "Oh alright, I promise not to use magic to win while we are here in Vegas."

As they went to the elevator Sean asked Connor "What was that all about?" "When Cordelia was a teenager she didn't believe that you had to tell the truth if you crossed your fingers. Since Cordelia was Kathleen's teacher as well as mother I was pretty sure that she had also taught her that little trick."

They all went to get something to eat before they started playing. Sean had already drunk a thermos full of blood while they were on the jet so he was good for the rest of the night.

For the next four nights they gambled, vegetated and made love. The only problem they had was Sean not being able to go out into the sun light. Since Vegas is a 24 hour town this didn't present to big of a problem. By the 3rd night they were starting to run out of steam but Connor started getting lucky.

When Sean, Kathleen and Lou went looking for him so they could go to a show they found him at the center of a large group of people that were making a lot of noise at a roulette wheel. Sean pushed his way to his side and found a large stack of chips in front of him. Since Sean was tall he could signal to the girls that he found him. Lou and Kathleen pushed their way through the crowd to stand on either side of Connor. Lou saw a tall, statuesque, barely clothed young woman with her arm around Connor. Lou pulled the woman's arm away from her husband and looked at her. "He's taken my dear." The young woman saw the ring on Lou's finger and quickly removed herself from the crowd. When Lou stood beside Connor she shouted to him "Let's go Connor. The show starts in 45 minutes." "But I'm winning. I'm hot tonight Lou." Lou gave him a look that told him he had better cash in his chips. "Okay but can I play it just one more time?" "Okay but once and only once." Lou told him. Connor pushed his entire stack of chips forward and onto 25 red. Sean guessed that he must have at least $200,000 in front of him. The man running the wheel looked at the pit boss. If Connor hit it his winnings would be over 1 million dollars. The pit boss gave the okay. The man controlling the table said "No more bets." He rolled the ball onto the roulette wheel as it started to turn. Everyone held their breath as the tiny ball went around and around the roulette wheel. After what seemed like forever the ball started to bounce between the numbers and finally landed on 25 red. Connor jumped up in the air and shouted I won, I won, I won. He grabbed onto Lou and swung her around then picked up Kathleen and swung her around. The noise around the table was deafening.

When Connor came back down to earth he said "I'll be cashing in now." The pit boss called for help in carrying all of the chips to the cashier. They all stood around the cashiers cage as all of the chips were counted up. After filling out all of the information for tax purposes the cashier handed over a check for $1,225,500. Since the banks were closed now Connor had the check placed in a safety deposit box at the casino until they left on Monday morning.

The rest of the night they celebrated by going to the show, dinner and dancing until they had to return because of Kathleen being tired. That night it was quiet in both rooms. They were too tired to do anything but sleep. The next morning Kathleen got up and took a shower. When she came out she expected to find Sean at least awake instead she found him still in bed with the sheet only half covering him so she went over and smacked his behind with a loud whack. He barely lifted up his head.

"Kathleen, get me one of the bags of human blood. I think my demon is demanding more right now because I feel real weak." Kathleen pulled a bag out of the locked ice chest and put it in a glass and warmed it up. Sean in the mean time had crawled up into a sitting position on the side of the bed. "Here Sean, make sure you don't spill any." He took the glass from her and drank it greedily. While he drank his blood Kathleen had some toast and an egg so her blood sugar wouldn't get to low while they went to church.

"How are you feeling now?" "Better, I think I'll go and take a shower now." By the time he was out Kathleen was dressed and ready for him. She had checked on Connor and Lou and they said they would be out in a few minutes. Without any of them realizing it Kathleen had taken Dr. Martins place in teaching everyone about God and his Son. She taught Daniel and Gabby and was preparing Daniel to make his First Holy Communion next year during the Easter season.

Sean took his overcoat, even though it wasn't cold, in order to protect himself against the sun. After church they all went back to the hotel and casino and lunch then a nap. They wanted to rest up for their last night on the town.

As soon as it got dark they made their way to downtown Las Vegas. The casinos were busy with the people that had just come into town and those that were spending their last night as the AI crew was doing. They had a late supper then hit the casino. Lou, Connor and Sean were sticking with the slot machines while Kathleen was playing Black Jack. As it came time for the show to start in the street Sean went looking for his wife. He couldn't find her until he went over to a small group of people standing by a Black Jack table. He sensed her nearness to him so he checked it out. Right in the middle of the table he found Kathleen with a stack of chips in front of her. He called out to her through the link they shared. "Kathleen, cash in your chips it's time to go to see the show." He was surprised that she did exactly as he said.

As she came up to him he put his arm around her and quietly said "You didn't use magic did you?" "No dear, I didn't." "That's a good girl. For a moment I thought I was going to have to have a few words with you." Sean just smiled at her and Kathleen smiled back. That did it, Sean knew she had done something illegal now. He thought he would just let it go for now.

After the show they just went back to their rooms. Everyone was tired after the long four days of fun. Kathleen's feet were sore so she wanted to soak in the whirlpool bath tonight. Sean went into the bathroom after disrobing. "You mind if I join you?" In answer she slipped forward in order to give him room to sit down. After a few minutes Sean asked her "How did you do at the Black Jack table?" "I was lucky and won $3,000." "How did you do that, not by magic I hope?" "No Sean, I kept my promise, besides Daddy said that that was not what my magic was for." Sean let it go. He knew she didn't use magic since Angel had told her not to but he knew she had done something.

The next morning they all got up early and packed then had their luggage picked up. They spent the rest of the day playing the slots and having brunch and then dinner before they had to go to the airport. Both Kathleen and Lou almost cleaned out the casino stores buying gifts for everyone. Connor picked up his check for his winnings as it started to get dark. Once again Sean had a limo pick them up and take them to the airport. Their jet was waiting for them and the limo let them off right next to it. By 9 P.M. they were back at the Hotel and glad to be home. They were all tired so they said their hellos then went to their bedrooms. Tonight would be the first night that Lorna would sleep with her new owner. As Kathleen and Sean went to bed Lorna crept up to snuggle between them. Sean wanted to put her back in her bed but Kathleen convinced him that it would be better if they let her sleep with them for awhile so she would get used to them plus it would be her first night in a strange room without Angus and Penny.

The next morning at the breakfast table they were telling everyone else what they had done and of all the money Connor had won. After breakfast Sean saw Kathleen and Fred talking together in the kitchen as they helped to take the dishes in and clear the table. When he saw them he signaled to Wesley to follow him.

Kathleen and Fred stopped talking and looked at their husbands when they saw them standing at the entrance to the kitchen. Wesley was the first one to say something. "Fred did you tell Kathleen how you like playing Black Jack and how you win?" "Uh, yes I did." Fred said with her eyes down. "Kathleen, did you use Fred's method?" Sean asked. "Uh, yes I did but I just wanted to see if I could do it and I only won $3,000." Kathleen said with her eyes down.

Sean looked at Wesley. "What did you do to Fred when you caught her?" Sean asked. "I made her give the money to the church when we attended Mass the next day since it was obtained illegally." "That sounds like a good idea. Next week I expect you to do the same thing Kathleen. Is that understood?" "Yes Dear." Sean and Wesley left then but they could hear their wives laughing as they turned the corner.

The next 5 months went by without too much excitement. Kathleen was having at least one vision each week while clients were keeping the rest busy during the days. Kathleen had several times where she forgot her after meals tea and both Sean and her paid for it. The rest of her pregnancy was uneventful except for the bouts of depression that Sean suffered along with her. Kathleen would cry for at least 30 minutes every week. Not 20 minutes or 35 minutes but 30 minutes exactly. When she was done she always just had to have two scoops of ice cream with butterscotch, chocolate, caramel or hot fudge syrup. The top had to be covered in whip cream from a can and exactly 2 cherries on top. If she didn't get exactly what she wanted her temper would get the better of her and her magical abilities would go wild. One week there was English ivy all over the basement. The next week the water in the pool froze solid. The worst one was when there was enough ice cream in the container for just one scoop and when she asked Sean to go out and get her some more in the middle of the night and he refused. "Kathleen you are going to have to learn to control these cravings. It's 2:30 in the morning and the stores are closed." Before Sean knew what was happening he started feeling itchy all over and when he tried to sit down he felt a pain on his left buttocks. He reached around to try to feel what it was and felt a large boil.

Connor, Lou, Wesley, Fred and Hunter had heard the noise downstairs and came down to see what was going on. When they arrived they found Sean covered in a rash that made his skin turn red. They also caught him with his hands in his pants and trying to feel what was hurting him.

"What in heaven's name happened to you Sean?" Hunter asked. "I wouldn't go out and get anymore ice cream for Kathleen so she gave me this rash and I think a large boil on my behind." Hunter checked Sean's behind and gave a low whistle when she saw it. She tried not to smile when she said "Kathleen how could you do such a terrible thing to your poor husband?"

"He wouldn't get me anymore ice cream so I gave him the rash and a boil right where it would hurt the most. If I have to carry his baby then he has to get me whatever I want when I am craving something. It's his duty as my husband and the father of my baby." Kathleen sat at the kitchen table slowly eating her one scoop of ice cream with all of the usual fixings.

"Kathleen, get rid of the rash and boil right now and I'll go and get you some more ice cream." Fred said. "There isn't any more Aunt Fred. That's why I asked him to get me some and he's lucky I didn't turn him into a toad or something. His daughter is demanding ice cream and making my life miserable so he has to suffer also." Fred didn't say anything more. She went upstairs to the 5th floor and was back in a few minutes with a half gallon container of vanilla ice cream and placed it in front of Kathleen. "Where was this?" Kathleen asked. "It's my secret stash. Connie buys me a new container every two weeks and I switch it with the old one. I started doing that when you started craving ice cream every week. I knew that sooner or later this would happen." Kathleen looked at Sean and gave him a wave of her hand and the rash and boil disappeared. After doing that she scooped up just one scoop of ice cream and put a little syrup with whip cream and a cherry on top. "Next time I ask you to get me something you had better just learn to say "Yes Dear"." Kathleen rinsed her dishes then put them into the dishwasher. Without saying anything more she went to the elevator and to their room.

They all looked at each other and laughed. Sean looked at his wife going to the elevator and said "Yes Dear". That was the last time that they were caught short of ice cream. Sean made sure everything his wife usually used was always in stock.

During the next two months they had two going away parties. The second one was for Jeff, Hunter's son, who was going into the Navy and attending Annapolis which was the first step in his plan to become a Navy Seal. The second was for Jerry Lee Gunn who was going into the seminary to become a priest. Jerry Lee's party was first since he was the first one to leave. Everyone went to Caritas as usual. Towards the end of the party they were able to get Jerry Lee to get up on the stage and do some karaoke singing. Lorne was sitting next to Cylindia and holding her hand as her son sang the old Al Jolson song 'Mammy'. When he was done Lorne told her what he saw in her son's future. The rest couldn't hear what he was telling her but whatever it was made her cry and smile at the same time. She hugged Lorne and thanked him. The next Saturday Jerry Lee left and gave a tearful goodbye to his mother and the rest. He was attending a seminary in the Los Angeles area so Connor and Cylindia drove him. When the doors were closed behind him Cylindia and Connor walked back to the van in silence. As they drove back to the hotel Cylindia asked him "Did you hear what Lorne told me Jerry Lee's future would be?" "No." "He said that when Jerry Lee is 30 years old he will be called to Rome to start a worldwide group of homes that will be based on Gunn's Kids." Connor looked at Cylindia. After a moment of silence Cylindia continued. "Charles used to worry about his kids and how Gunn's Kids would continue after he died. Dr. Martin would repeatedly tell him that Gunn's Kids would become worldwide but he didn't really believe her because he couldn't see how it could be done. I used to tell him "Charles your problem is that you have no faith. You only believe in what you can feel, touch and control. Dr. Martin always told you to have a little faith. Now his son will be the instrument that Jesus will use to make Charles dreams come true." Cylindia was quiet for the rest of the ride home.

Just before Kathleen and Sean's baby was due they had a party for Jeff who was to enter the Navy and Annapolis on Monday.

They made his party a men only party. It had become a tradition in the Angel Investigations family that all teenage boys would be inducted into the world of men by their 18th birthday or shortly their after. All of the men took Jeff for his first encounter with a woman and the proper way to make love to a woman in Covina. Afterwards they went up into the San Gabriel Mountains and had an all night campout. Sean was the only one that didn't go because of it being so close to Kathleen's delivery date.

The next Monday Connor and Hunter took Jeff to the airport for his flight to Annapolis. All through the ride to the airport Hunter sat in the back with her son and held his hand. She didn't start crying though until they got to the security check line. Jeff hugged his mother and Hunter hugged him back. When they pulled apart Hunter made the sign of the cross on her son's forehead. "Write to me as often as you can Jeff." "I will Momma. Goodbye." Jeff shook Connor's hand and received a hug from him also. "Be careful Jeff. Don't forget to hold back on your special abilities." Connor said as he let him go. "I won't Connor. Take good care of my mother." Jeff turned then and went to the security check line. When he finally went through and was on the other side he turned back and waved goodbye to his Mother and Connor then went to the boarding station for his flight to his future.

Connor and Hunter rode back in silence. Connor reached over and put his hand on Hunter's shoulder. "He'll be okay Hunter. Try not to worry about him. Before you know it he'll be back for Christmas." "I know Connor, it's just that he is my only baby. If it wasn't for Spike I think I would just go into a hibernation sleep until Christmas because my heart is hurting so much now." The rest of the ride home was made in silence. When they returned home Hunter went to her bedroom and waited for Spike to come home. Cylindia spent the day with her to keep her company and they talked of their sons and how much Cylindia missed her son.

Connor and the rest were kept busy with clients and several of Kathleen's visions the rest of the week. Hunter was starting to slow down more and was finding it hard to resist going on these vision rescues. During the past few days she had started to spend these times with Sean and Kathleen so she wouldn't think of Jeff too much.

On Friday evening Kathleen, Sean and Hunter were all sitting in front of the T.V. watching Jeopardy while the others were on a vision rescue. Hunter and Sean were both from different countries and didn't know too much about the history of the United States so they were on equal footing with Kathleen. It was half way through the show when Sean noticed Kathleen wince with apparent discomfort. He reached over and put his hand on her stomach. Kathleen put her hand over his. In the next few seconds Sean felt the same pain that Kathleen had.

"Well Mommy, I think that our daughter has decided to start her journey." Sean said as he put his hand in different positions on her stomach. Like Angel, both Sean and Kathleen could communicate with their daughter while still in her little prison.

"I know, I haven't been able to communicate with her for the past 2 days. Grandma said that Daddy couldn't talk to me either when I was getting ready to be born."

"You should be thinking about cutting the link with her Sean." Hunter said. "Not yet. I don't think she'll be ready until sometime tomorrow night. Tomorrow afternoon I'll cut the link but until then I'll be able to sense if there are any problems." "Okay, that's up to you but I think you'll want to cut it before that though." Hunter said.

Early the next morning Sean wished he had taken Hunter's advice. Everyone that had gone on the mission had returned at 9:30 with no major injuries to report. Spike had been able to go on the mission also so injuries were kept to a minimum. He was now the only Vampire that they had going on the missions. Sean usually joined them but with Kathleen's delivery date coming up he usually stayed at home. At 2 a.m. in the morning Sean was awakened by Spike shaking his shoulder.

"Sean, wake up." "What's wrong?" Sean said as he rubbed his eyes. "Cylindia called from Mrs. Benton's. She has two of the girls living with them delivering at the same time. They're both having contractions at 5 minutes apart. I need you to take care of one of them." "Okay, I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes." Spike took off as soon as Sean jumped in. They made it to Mrs. Benton's just in time. Both girls were very young and scared. One girl was only 15 and the other was 16. They were too close to delivering so they weren't given any drugs.

Just as Sean and Spike pulled up to the house Sean felt Kathleen's first hard contraction. He bent forward and leaned his head on the dash board. Spike knew what it was when he saw Sean lean forward. When it was over Sean sat back. "You should cut the link Sean." Spike said. "No, not yet this is only her first hard contraction. She shouldn't have another one for a few hours at least." "You know as well as I do Sean that she could progress real fast. Promise that you will cut the link if you feel another one coming on again while you're delivering the baby." "I promise." As soon as Sean felt better they went in.

Spikes girl took another hour before she delivered while Sean's girl delivered almost as soon as he got there. Cylindia and another woman that was now living at the home had their hands full. Spike and Sean examined the babies as soon as they were done cleaning up the mothers. Both babies were doing well. When Sean started to take his mothers baby over to her Cylindia stopped him.

"Sean, the baby has been put up for adoption and the mother doesn't want to see her. The social worker is here with the adoptive parents in the living room. Spike, the baby you delivered has also been put up for adoption and the Social Worker will be back tomorrow. The adoptive parents are out of town but are returning right now and will pick up their new son tomorrow." Cylindia told them.

"It's for the best. Both of the girls are too young to take on the responsibility of taking care of their babies." Sean followed Cylindia into the living room with the baby girl in his arms.

The social worker and a man and woman stood up when they came in. "Mr. and Mrs. Fuentes, here is your baby girl." The woman gently took the baby from Sean's arms.

After another hour of talking to the birth mothers and Mr. and Mrs. Fuentes Sean all of a sudden excused himself and went outside. When Spike was able to get away he went outside and found Sean on his knees beside the car. Spike helped him stand up when it was over.

"I guess we better get home now. I cut the link with Kathleen. I almost passed out when it hit me." "You just may be able to hold your own daughter in your arms before tonight Sean." Spike said as he helped him into the car. He ran back in and told Cylindia they were going home because Kathleen was in labor also. "I'll be there as soon as I can Spike." Spike returned to the car and they left for the hotel.

When they arrived at the hotel Sean practically jumped out of the car before it came to a stop at the back. He ran in and to the clinic. Kathleen was on the exam bed with her feet in the stirrups. Fred and Hunter were preparing for the baby. He went to Kathleen's side and she reached out for him. After kissing her he asked her "How are you doing?" "It hurts like hell but as the saying goes 'so far so good'." Kathleen tried to give him a smile but was hit with another contraction.

"How far apart are the contractions now?" Sean asked Hunter. "Close enough for you to get over here and prepare to help your daughter into the world." Sean quickly washed his hands and Hunter helped him with his gloves. He sat down at the end of the bed. Kathleen let out a scream as another powerful contraction hit her. "Okay Kathleen when you feel the next contraction coming I want you to push until we tell you to stop." Spike had come in and was helping her to sit up when the next contraction came. He started counting to ten as Kathleen pushed as hard as she could. When it was over she laid back in exhaustion. "Okay Kathleen I can see the head. When the next contraction comes push as hard as you can and well have our little girl with us." Within seconds the next one hit and Kathleen gave it her all. Sean held onto the baby's head and helped her to get one shoulder out then she slid out and into the world. After suctioning her nose and mouth the baby gave out a loud cry. Sean cut the umbilical cord and showed her to Kathleen then Hunter and Fred took her to clean her up and weigh and measure her. When it came time to fill out the birth certificate Fred asked "What's her name Sean?"

Sean and Kathleen looked at each other. "Mary Cordelia McConnell" Sean told Fred. When she was done filling out the certificate Fred brought the newest addition to the Angel Investigation team over to her parents and into her mother's arms. They each gave their new daughter a kiss. Just as Cordelia had done Kathleen looked at Sean and then at her daughter.

"Mary Cordelia McConnell I would like to introduce you to your Daddy Sean McConnell." Sean gently took her into his arms and said "Hi Mary I'm your Daddy." Sean had tears in his eyes as he gave his daughter a gentle kiss. He turned then and took her out into the lobby. Everyone stood up when he walked out. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to the newest member of the Angel Investigation team, our daughter Mary Cordelia McConnell." Everyone clapped then gathered around Sean and checked out the newest addition. He opened the blanket so everyone could get a good look at her. Nicky and Mike were standing together and next to Sean. "Hi Mary, I'm your uncle Nicky." "And I'm your Uncle Mike." Mary just gave them a big yawn. Sean wrapped her up again and went back into the clinic. Spike had Kathleen all cleaned up and wrapped up. Sean could see that she was asleep. Fred took Mary from Sean so that he could carry his wife up to their bed. As Sean carried Kathleen upstairs Fred and Hunter followed. It was 9 o'clock in the morning and no one had got very much sleep. Willow and Tara took care of the new baby as usual so that her mother and father could get their last good nights' sleep. Everyone else went back to bed also.

TBC…………..

The next chapter will be the last one.


	14. Chapter 14

**I am sorry that it has taken me so long to complete this story. Like so many people in America I have had a lot of financial worries and if you have ever had to deal with or know of someone that has been in a situation where they didn't know if they were going to have a roof over their heads next month then you know how hard this is on you. Needless to say this frame of mind is not conducive to writing. Things are looking a lot better now though and I was able to think about the last chapter again. I hope you like the way I ended it and I want to thank all of you for all of your reviews. Kinoa **

Chapter 14

At 7 p.m. Kathleen woke up with the feeling that someone had just kissed her but no one was in the room with her. She looked around the room carefully and somehow she knew that her mother and father were in the room with her. She picked up the phone and called downstairs for Sean. Fred, as usual, picked up the phone. "Aunt Fred?" "Yes." "Aunt Fred if Sean is down there would you tell him to come to our room and bring the baby with him. I want just him for now, okay?" "Okay Kathleen he'll be there in a few minutes."

It only took him five minutes to pick up his daughter and make his way upstairs. He turned the light on and came in and closed the door behind him. Kathleen was sitting up in bed and waiting for him. Sean went to the side of the bed and gave his daughter to her mother. Without saying anything to him she took her daughter in her arms and pulled the blankets back to fully expose her daughter. She looked up and towards the middle of the room. To Sean's surprise she said "Momma and Daddy I would like to introduce you to your Granddaughter Mary Cordelia McConnell."

Angel and Cordelia became more solid then as they approached the bed. Sean got up when he was able to see them and went to the end of the bed. Cordelia sat on the side of the bed. "She's beautiful Kathleen. You and Sean did real good. I wish that I could hold her." Cordelia put her finger in her granddaughter's tiny hand and to her surprise she grabbed onto her. Cordelia looked at Angel. "She knows I'm here and I can feel her hand." "Take her Momma. You'll be able to hold her for awhile."

Cordelia carefully took her granddaughter from Kathleen. Angel bent down and gave his granddaughter a kiss on her forehead and then kissed her hand and Cordelia did the same. She gave her back to Kathleen before she became incorporeal again. She gave her daughter a hug and kiss then turned to Sean and gave him a hug and kiss also. Angel shook Sean's hand and gave his daughter a hug and kiss also. Kathleen continued to hold onto her father for as long as she could. He whispered in her ear. "I am very proud of you Kathleen. I love you." Angel stood up then and they said goodbye.

"Why were we able to feel them?" Sean asked. "Jesus gave them this small gift." With tears in her eyes Kathleen kissed Sean and then her daughter. She gave her daughter to Sean then while she went to the bathroom. When she came out she brought a washrag and a hand towel back to the bed and got under the covers again. She pulled her nightgown off her shoulders and prepared her breast for her daughter's first meal. While she was doing this Sean had come over to the other side of the bed and sat down beside her. Kathleen leaned against him while her daughter learned where her meals were going to come from. "I've seen women feed their babies many times but this is special because this baby is mine also. I've never understood completely the look of wonder on the fathers faces until now." He kissed his daughters head gently as she suckled at her mother's breast.

When Kathleen was through feeding her daughter she gave her to Sean to burp. When he got the tiny burp he changed her and wrapped her up again. They heard a knock at the door. Sean went to open the door. "Come in Fred and Wesley." Fred came in first and then was followed by Wesley who had a tray of food. "I thought you would probably be hungry now so I made a sandwich for you."

"I'm starving, thank you Aunt Fred." Fred and Wesley sat down at the kitchen table while Kathleen ate her sandwich. When Kathleen was done and leaning against the headboard sipping on her cup of coffee that Sean had made she said "Momma and Daddy came to see their new granddaughter."

"I bet Angel's smile reached from one side of his face to the other." Wesley said. "It did but the biggest thing was that Jesus gave them the gift of being able to touch and hold her for a few minutes." Kathleen said. "Before they became incorporeal again I got to hug and kiss them again." Kathleen said with tears in her eyes. Fred hugged her and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "You are a very lucky girl Kathleen."

Both Fred and Wesley left after a few minutes and took the tray down to the kitchen. Sean placed his daughter in the bassinet so she could sleep. "I think I'll go and take a shower then lie down for some more sleep. Giving birth is exhausting work and I think I need some more rest." "Do you want me to come and help you?" "No I think I'll be okay. Why don't you go downstairs and get yourself some blood. You're looking more pale than usual." "Yah, I am feeling a little weak. I've had nothing on my mind but you and our daughter."

Sean went downstairs and saw his brother in-laws Nicky and Mike at the dining room table having some coffee. After he warmed up his mug of blood he went to sit down with them.

"How is Kathleen and our new niece doing?" Nicky asked. "Okay, Angel and Cordelia came to see their new granddaughter. For a few minutes they became solid enough for Cordelia to hold her granddaughter for a few minutes. Both Angel and Cordelia gave her a kiss then gave her back to Kathleen before they became incorporeal again. When they left I asked Kathleen why they were able to touch their granddaughter. She said that Jesus had given them this small gift." Sean waited for a few minutes to ask his own question. "When are you two going to start your own families?"

Nicky and Mike hadn't expected that question. "We both have girlfriends but we haven't said anything to them yet about who we are and what we do. I want to finish my schooling first before I make a more serious commitment. " Mike said.

"What about the Price boys?" Sean asked. "They have prospects also. I think David is about ready to pop the question but Bobby is tied up with his schooling right now. We've all gone out together a couple of times and Jeanie says that Bobbie's girlfriend, Debbie, has set the hook and is getting ready to reel him in." Mike said.

"I am going to go over to Mrs. Benton's and check on the two girls that delivered their own babies yesterday. Anyone want to go?" Wesley was just coming out of the kitchen when he heard Sean. "I want to go with you. I have to check with Mrs. Benton and make sure that she has enough money to feed everyone. I'll meet you in the back in a few minutes." Sean took off to the back and Wesley went to his office to pick up some papers. As promised he met Sean in the back and they left.

Fred went up stairs to her mother's room and knocked on the door. "Mother can I come in?" "Yes Fred." By now Mrs. Burkle had all of her own furniture in her 5th floor room. Fred entered to find her mother sitting in her rocking chair and watching T.V.

"How are you doing Momma? I haven't seen you all day except at the evening meal." "It's a little too busy for me Fred. All of the activity in the hotel is a little too much for me. Your Father and I led a quiet life. The foreman only talked to your Father once each day. The only times we went out was on Sunday to go to church and visit with friends. You know Fred, I was thinking that maybe I should go and live with my sister Julia. She is all alone now also. Your Uncle John died 2 years ago and she called me today and asked me to come and live with her." "But Momma, she lives all the way over in Florida." "I know but her son lives close by her and checks on her twice a week to make sure she is okay and to see if she needs anything. His wife takes her to her Doctor appointments and they go to the store once each week. We'll be good company for each other." Fred had a tear falling down her cheek when she looked up at her mother. "Okay Momma, if you really want to go I'll talk to Wesley." "Thank you dear. I'll be fine and you and Wesley can come out and visit me each year." Fred kissed and hugged her mother for a long time then left. When they went to bed that night she talked to Wesley about her mother's decision.

"She'll be okay Fred. We can fly to Florida with her and make sure that she is okay. We can have what furniture she wants with her sent over later. Anything that she needs we'll make sure that she has, okay?" Fred just kissed Wesley and said "Okay, I guess it's for the best. Good night." Wesley kissed Fred and they went to sleep.

The next morning Wesley told everyone that Fred's mother had decided to move to Florida and they would be taking her the following Wednesday. "Why does Grandma want to leave us Uncle Wesley? Doesn't she like us?" Gabby asked. "Yes she likes us but Grandma is older and needs more quiet time. Besides her sister needs her right now because she is lonely." "Okay Uncle Wesley, I guess if her sister needs her we can let her go."

That was the end of the discussion about Grandma Burkle's leaving. Everyone realized how noisy the hotel could get sometimes and they all agreed that it would be best for her to move to a more quiet location. Wesley and Fred were gone for two weeks while they got Fred's mother settled in.

The next few months were busy ones. Kathleen was kept busy taking care of her daughter. She would have at least two visions each week that sent everyone running for the doors. Even Sean was asked to go on a few when Spike was busy at the hospital or Mrs. Benton's clinic.

While they were gone one evening Fred received a surprise call from Marissa Morgan. "Angel Investigations." Fred answered. "Hi Fred this is Marissa Morgan." "Marissa. Hi, how have you been? I haven't heard from you in so long." "Hi Fred I called to invite you to our daughters graduation party this weekend. She graduated from Yale last weekend and we are having her party this weekend since her Daddy couldn't go to the graduation. Can you all come on Saturday at 7?" "I have to talk to the rest but I'm sure we can all come. I'll call you back tomorrow afternoon and let you know how many will be coming." "Okay Fred Good-bye." The next morning at the breakfast table Fred told everyone about the party and they all said they wanted to go.

Next Saturday they all loaded up in the vans in the family. Joaquin and Connie were the only ones that were not going so Daniel and Gabby were left with them. Since Cordy was so young Kathleen had to take her with her plus Sean said he wanted to show their daughter off.

Long tables had been set up outside since they were having a barbeque. They had slaughtered one steer for the barbeque so there was plenty of food along with blood for all of the vampires in the group since all of Morgan's guards were at the barbeque also. David Morgan had asked Kathleen to put up a shield around the parameter of his property while the party was going on so all of the guards could participate also. Nicky, Mike, Eddie and Will came without their girlfriends because of where the party was being held. As they all took seats at the table Kathleen got Sean's, Spikes and Connors attention and told them to watch the boys as they sat down. Four of the female guards sat down across from them. When their eyes met they heard a loud clap of thunder, yet there were no clouds in the sky or even in the distance. It was apparent that no one else but Willow, Tara, Kathleen, Sean, Spike, Connor and Hunter had heard the loud thunder and knew what it meant.

Wesley and Fred saw the looks on every ones faces. "What's wrong?" Wesley asked Connor.

"Apparently God has chosen wives for Nicky, Mike, Eddie and Will. When their eyes met with the ladies across the table from them we heard a loud thunder clap." Just as Connor got through explaining to Wesley and Fred what they had just heard David Morgan and Marissa came over and sat on either side of the table next to the rest.

"Did you hear that thunder clap?" David asked. "Yes, we all did except for the eight people down there." Connor pointed to his brothers and the Summers boys down at the end of the table and the 4 women guards. "I take it that the ladies are all Vampires?" Connor asked. "Yes, they joined my guards just 5 months ago." David answered. "Have they been given their souls back yet?" Wesley asked. "Yes that is a pre-requisite for joining my crew now. Once they have been given time to get through their re-joining, as we like to call it, they go through some training then become a part of my team." David said. They watched the interaction between the men and women for awhile. You could have exploded a firecracker on the table and they wouldn't have noticed it.

Everyone looked at Kathleen. "Does Grandma have anything to say about these new pairings Kathleen?" Connor asked. "Yes she does but we need to go into the Library for awhile, if that's okay with you Marissa?" "Yes, I can have some coffee ready for everyone once you're through eating." They all turned back to their suppers then and once everyone was done they got up and went into the house. Marissa gave the butler orders to bring coffee into the Library for everyone. When she came back everyone was sitting except Kathleen who was changing Lil' Cordy. When she was done she took a seat next to Sean who put a baby blanket over her shoulder and his daughter as Kathleen started to feed her. By the time she was done several servants came in with the coffee.

They all watched as Sean took his daughter from her mother and gently put her on his shoulder to burp her. Marissa was curious why he gave the baby back to Kathleen when he was done burping her. "Why don't you hold her for awhile Sean so she can get used to you?" "She doesn't sleep very well when I hold her for very long. When Kathleen holds her she can hear her mother's heart beat and she stays asleep for a longer period of time. My heart doesn't beat fast enough for her to be lulled into sleep. Didn't you ever notice that when you held Stacy in your left arm that she slept better?" "No I didn't." Marissa said.

When Lil' Cordy fell asleep she put her in the baby carrier. "Okay everyone this is what I have been told by Dr. Martin and my father. The 4 women Vampires will become a part of Angel Investigation when they marry Nicky, Mike, David and Bobby. Like Aunt Hunter each woman will be able to produce one child. They will all be boys. In this way the boys will replace themselves only and like Aunt Hunter their wives will lose their ability to have any more children. This will also keep the Vampire strengths in the family line without anyone having to become Vampires. If anything unforeseen should happen to one of the boys, like Grandma always said, 'God will provide'. David and Marissa, Angel Investigations and Morgan Enterprises are destined to be together. How this will happen I don't know yet, but I suspect it will have to do with who Stacy marries. I have been given this information because God does not approve of the type of business you deal in and He wants you to start to become more traditional. Of course this is up to you, but because of who Stacy will marry, eventually it will happen. If you decide to do as God wishes you will of course be scoring a lot of, as they say, 'Brownie Points' with Him." Everyone laughed at Kathleen's choice of words.

"What about Jeff Kathleen? Have you been told anything about him?" Hunter asked. "All I can tell you Aunt Hunter is that he will do well in the Navy Seals. The skills that he will be taught will be very beneficial to the group." "But will he be alright? I know that the Seals are always being sent into dangerous situations." "I can't tell you Aunt Hunter. All I can tell you is that he will be alright." Hunter was hoping for more but she had to be content with what she had. After all it couldn't be any worse than what he could get into with them.

After talking for awhile they all left the library and returned to the barbeque. When Hunter stood to leave Kathleen called to her. "Aunt Hunter, could you stay a minute please?" Hunter returned to her seat across from Kathleen. Sean had taken Lil' Cordy so he could show her off to the others in Morgan's group of guards. The women, especially, gathered around to see her. Many were new and had not been around to see Stacy when she was a baby. The women that were destined to be with Angel's and Spike's sons were especially interested. "Not being able to have children is what I regret the most about being a Vampire." Diana, Nicky's future wife said.

"See that little woman over by Fred?" Sean asked. When Diana said yes Sean continued to tell them who she was. "That petite woman is the oldest known Vampire in existence. She is over 4,000 years old and yet she found a man to love and who loved her. He was an OB/GYN and he explored the possibility that she could conceive. Usually when a woman is turned into a Vampire she is unable to become pregnant because her menstrual cycle stops. Her ovaries continue to produce eggs but her body is too cold to sustain a pregnancy and doesn't produce an adequate amount of blood for the egg to be nourished. Mike, her husband, started giving her hormone shots to kind of wake up her system again. Plus she has always been too thin so she started to eat more so that she would have the proper fat ratio in her body for her to have a normal period. Somehow, between the extra weight and the hormone treatments, she was able to conceive and carry one baby to term. After she delivered though, Mike had to take out her uterus because of its condition." "Where is her son now? Did he die?" Diana asked. "No he is attending Annapolis now. He wants to be a Navy Seal." The Vampires departed then and Sean could see renewed hope in their eyes.

Everyone separated and returned to their tables. Some of the guards started to make a large bonfire so they could sit around it as the evening wore on. All of the tables were cleared of any food and everyone went into the formal dining room where Stacy was given a place of honor at the head of the table where her father usually sat. All of the presents that everyone gave her were stacked up on a table that was right by her. When everyone was settled the servants brought in a large cake, with 'Congratulation Stacy' written across it. Everyone clapped and congratulated her on her accomplishments. Stacy was the apple of her Daddy's eye and treated her accordingly. After she had opened all of her other presents she unashamedly looked to her father. "Where's your present Daddy?" "I was saving it for last my princes. I want to put this blind fold on you first so you won't see your present until the last second." Marissa put a large black silk scarf over her daughter's eyes so she couldn't see. Her father took her hand then and slowly and carefully led his daughter outside to the front. Everyone followed. Two of the servants opened the double doors as they approached the front of the house. When everyone was gathered on the front steps Marissa removed the scarf from her daughter's eyes.

Stacy opened her eyes and let out a loud scream. David and Marissa had bought their daughter a Viper. It was a bright red color and had a large white ribbon on it. Stacy turned to her father and mother and hugged them both. "Thank you Daddy and Momma, thank you, thank you, thank you." "There is still more Stacy. Go and check out the inside of your new car." David said.

Stacy ran to the car and opened the door. On the driver's seat she found a large manila envelope. She quickly opened it and found 5 round trip first class tickets to Hawaii. When she came running back to her father and mother she looked at them questioningly. "Those tickets are for you to take four of your girl friends with you. Wesley and Connor have given you their house in Hawaii to stay at for the next two weeks. The house comes with servants that normally take care of the property year round. I have only one rule for you to follow Stacy and that is that four of our guards will go with you. They will keep you safe for me while you are gone." "But Daddy!" "No ifs ands or buts about it little girl." Stacy put her head down and said "Okay." Then she jumped in his arms and kissed him then went to her mother and did the same.

"Can I pick the guards?" Stacy asked. "Yes you can, but make sure that they are all women." David said. Stacy looked at her mother and had just one word to say. "Rats".

The party broke up then and people started leaving. Before the Angel Investigation team left Wesley told Stacy to call him and let him know the flight they would be on so he could call Mr. Kianoa to let him know when to pick them up at the airport.

Before she left Kathleen went to hug Stacy goodbye and congratulate her again. Sean heard her whisper something in her ear, but he couldn't make out what it was. When they were sitting together during the ride home Sean asked her "What did you whisper to Stacy?" "I told her that she sure had her Daddy wrapped around her little finger. She whispered back to me "I learned from an expert"."

Connor had heard the conversation and added in "These women start learning how to control us men at an early age Sean. We men don't stand a chance." "Not me. I'm not going to let that happen. When I say no it will mean no." Sean said.

Connor and Wesley cracked up laughing. "As I recall Sean those were Angels famous last words, just before Cordelia gave him Kathleen to burp after nursing her. He looked at us and said "Ouch, she's squeezing my ribs"."

The ride home was quiet the rest of the way. Li'l Cordy was being rocked to sleep by the motion of the van. Both Kathleen and Lou were sleeping also. By midnight they arrived back at the Hotel. The men woke the women up and Sean carried Li'l Cordy up to their bedroom where he gently put her in her crib.

Everything was quiet at Angel Investigation after the party until just two weeks before Christmas when Jerry Lee Gunn and Jeff Thompson came home for the holidays. Since Jerry Lee was going to a seminary and did not belong to a religious order he had regular vacation days just as though he was going to college. Jerry Lee had returned home on Saturday morning and Jeff was picked up at the airport at 6 that same night. Tom (Lou's brother) had been in England for the past month and taking care of Council business so he came in just one hour after Jeff. Connie went all out in preparing food for the boys. Three women were in 7th heaven with their men coming home. Hunter had her son Jeff and Cylindia had her son Jerry Lee.

Joyce and Tom were married now. They had, had a small ceremony with only the family attending several months before. They had decided to have just a wedding ceremony without the benefit of a mass just so that Fr. Max could perform the ceremony. Joyce stayed home while Tom was in England. She had taken over the teaching of Daniel and Gabby while they were in their elementary school years so she was tied to the hotel while school was in session. Daniel was in his last year of elementary school and Gabby was in the third grade now.

On Christmas Eve the Morgan family, along with several of David's guards, went to midnight mass and returned with the rest to the Hyperion to spend the night. The guards took over guarding the hotel for the night.

Christmas morning started early, as usual. Without Buffy, Spike had lost his childish antics and Connor had finally grown up also. The childish antics were left to the youngest in the Martin and Summers families now. Daniel and Gabby ran over to everyone's bedroom doors and pounded on them until they got a response. They ran through the hallways yelling at the top of their lungs, 'Merry Christmas everyone it's time to get up and open presents'. They ran downstairs then and quickly started to bring out all of the cereal boxes and jugs of milk and put them on the side bar so everyone could get their breakfast as fast as possible. Daniel started to make all kinds of toast and had put out jars of jelly and jam along with butter. It was clear that they didn't want any delays. Without Spike and Connor pushing to open the presents Fred was able to get the children to wait until everyone had their breakfast.

Today was going to be the first day that Stacy would meet Jeff Thompson since they were teenagers. Stacy was five years older than Jeff and had been busy with her schooling in another state while Jeff had been growing into the handsome young man that he was today.

Jeff had grabbed some scrambled eggs and sausages that Connie had made and was already sitting at the table. With the extra people they had actually run out of coffee and another pot had to be made so Stacy was helping Connie by filling up coffee cups for those that had not been able to get any the first time. When Stacy filled up Jeff's coffee cup their eyes met. No thunderclap was heard but Kathleen knew that the thunderbolt had hit Jeff. Hunter had seen what happened and she looked at Kathleen questioningly. Kathleen just gave her a smile and a slight nod.

Stacy was so enamored with Jeff that she almost made the coffee go all over him when Marrisa called out to her, "Stacy, be careful". "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me." Stacy said as she put the coffee pot down and looked at Jeff. "You're Jeff Thompson, Hunter's son?" Jeff stood up and pulled out the chair next to him for her. "Yes, you're Stacy Morgan?" "Yes. How is it that we haven't seen each other before?" "We have but I don't think you would remember me from among all of the other teenage boys in the hotel. We have often been described as a herd of elephants running through the place." "You were the youngest in the group and the smallest weren't you?" Stacy asked. Stacy was finally able to pull her eyes away from Jeff when her mother placed a dish of scrambled eggs in front of her daughter. "As you can see I'm not the smallest anymore."

They continued with their conversation while eating their breakfast. Stacy was having a hard time taking her eyes off of Jeff. Like he said, he was no longer the smallest in the group of what used to be referred to as the boys. Jeff was now 6'1". All of the exercise that he had been put through had made his shoulders more muscular and he could have passed for a model. His natural light brown skin gave him a look of having a perpetual sun tan. Stacy was sure that he sported six pack abs. She was practically salivating as she looked at him.

Marissa saw the affect that Jeff was having on her daughter and she nudged her husband in the side. When he turned to look at her she pointed towards their daughter. "I guess he is the one." David said. Marissa had the feeling that her husband, for some reason, didn't approve, but she let it go. Stacy looked happy and that was all that Marissa wanted for her daughter. If she was anything like her mother Marissa knew that nothing would stop her from getting who she wanted.

Kathleen had seen what was going on also but decided not to say anything. Daniel and Gabby were standing over by the Christmas tree patiently waiting for everyone to finish. Gabby was the first one to lose her patience.

"Come on everyone it's time to open the presents. Mommy, Daddy, come on." Connor, Lou and their Uncle Wesley and Aunt Fred finally got up and went to the Christmas tree. Everyone else followed also. As soon as everyone found a seat Nicky and Mike got on the floor and started to hand out the presents. It was traditional to let each person open all of their presents before the next person opened theirs. Of course with Gabby being the youngest she opened hers first, then it was her brother's turn. Gabby had so many presents that she almost couldn't see over the top of the stack. She made sure that as she opened each present she showed everyone what she got and thanked whoever gave it to her. In the mean time Kathleen's Border Collie, Lorna Doon, was having a ball playing among all of the paper and ribbons. She was interested in each and every present that Gabby opened and inspected it carefully. Just as Kathleen had done with Toby, Connor's dog, Gabby was Lorna Doon's primary companion except at night when she dutifully took up her station in front of Lil' Cordy's crib.

It took almost 90 minutes for everyone to open their presents. Papers, boxes and ribbons were all over the place. Gabby and Lorna Doon were making even more of a mess as they played among all of the wrappings.

As usual Fred had bought Wesley a new and more powerful computer along with research books. She had complained to Kathleen that it was getting harder and harder for her to find a book that he didn't already have. She had finally called the library at the Watchers headquarters and faxed them a list of all of the books that Wesley already had and asked if they had any suggestions of books that she could get to add to his own personal library. Two weeks later she received a call from the head librarian. He had found a very rare book that had been hand written and it contained references to Hunter. The book was over 500 years old and in pristine condition. Wesley had immediately gone into his office and was carefully starting to read it while wearing white gloves. Fred knew that he would be in there the rest of the day.

Later in the day, after Christmas dinner was over and all of the food and dishes were done and put away Kathleen went over and sat next to David and Marissa. As soon as she sat down with Lil Cordy Marissa asked if she could hold her. After she gave the baby to Marissa Kathleen thought that now was just as good a time as any to talk to David about the problem he was having with Stacy's and Jeff's relationship.

"You seem to have some misgivings about Stacy and Jeff's relationship David. Why don't you like it?" David took a moment to answer. He finally took a drink from his glass of Royal Crown and said, "He's too squeaky clean." Hunter had heard what he said and came over to join in the conversation.

"Did I hear you correctly David that you think Jeff is too squeaky clean?" Hunter asked. "Don't get me wrong Hunter. I like Jeff and I respect him for the life that he has chosen for himself, but for him to join my family brings me into too much contact with the government. I have all of my employee's to think about. I have a hard enough time keeping us out of the public eye." David said.

Kathleen just looked at Hunter to see what she would say, or do.

Hunter looked over to Jeff and Stacy. "Jeff, would you and Stacy come over here for a minute please?" Jeff and Stacy came over. Jeff pulled over a couple of chairs so that they could sit down by the group.

"Jeff, we believe that God has chosen you for Stacy. Stacy's father, David, is having a problem with His choice though. He thinks that you are too squeaky clean for you to be associated with his current business." They all had their eyes on Jeff. Before he could speak though Stacy put her hand on Jeff's arm and said, "Let me answer this Jeff." Jeff just nodded at her.

"Daddy, Jeff and I have been talking about this situation. First of all we've only just met. We have both heard of what Kathleen has told you that I would marry someone in the Angel Investigation group. I really don't think that you have to worry about him being too squeaky clean to be associated with your business because he has a long time before he will be leaving the Navy. He plans on being with them for at least 10 years and maybe more. By the time he starts working with you I am sure that you will be way onto your way of changing over to more ethical businesses. While we are on the subject though, I would like to ask you to leave the gambling and prostitution businesses. While I was away in college someone found out about the prostitution business that you have. I thank God though that they didn't know what "kind" of prostitution business you were in. I had a difficult time talking my way out of that rumor. Fortunately I was able to convince people that you had been given a bordello as a form of payment for a debt owed to you and that you were working towards getting rid of it." Stacy's face was red with embarrassment when she got through talking.

Everyone was quiet for a moment then someone started laughing at the situation Stacy's father had put her in. No one could keep a straight face then and they all started laughing. "I know it sounds funny now but at the time it wasn't." Stacy said. Jeff put his arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

When everyone quieted down David said, "I'm sorry Baby. It never crossed my mind that someone in the group of people you associate with might find out about that business. I promise that tomorrow I will start working on a way to get rid of the business." David got up and went to his daughter and hugged her. He then turned to Jeff and shook his hand. "I know it's early to say this but welcome to the family Jeff." "Thank you Sir. Although Stacy and I have just met for the second time we feel as though we are destined to be together." Marissa came over and hugged her daughter and her future son-in law also.

Everyone started to pack up their things and prepared to leave. It was dark outside and safe for David and his guards to leave. Jeff borrowed someone's van so he could help take the presents and Stacy home to the Morgan's. He didn't have to be back to school until next Monday so both Stacy and Jeff knew that they would have at least a week to be together and get to know each other.

By 11 p.m. everyone was in bed. It had been a long day and everyone was worn out, but not to worn out for some evening activities.

After Kathleen put Lil Cordy to bed after feeding her she went to take a bath. Sean had already taken a shower and was sitting on the couch and watching his newest cartoon DVD that Kathleen had given him for Christmas. As Kathleen stopped and looked at him and just shook her head she thought "Well I guess since Daddy had Tarzan it's okay for Sean to have the Road Runner and Bugs Bunny." She laughed to herself and went in to take a nice long soak in the whirlpool bath.

After almost 45 minutes she came out feeling refreshed and ready for some activities of her own. Kathleen removed her robe and got under the covers. Sean was still in front of the TV so she called out to him. "Sean, come to bed." From the way she said it Sean knew that they were going to be exchanging more gifts. Without any further encouragement he turned the TV off, turned the lights off on his way to the bed, removed his robe and climbed into bed with his wife.

They took the love making slow and easy tonight. Kathleen didn't want to wake up their daughter so she did her best to keep her response to Sean's administrations as quiet as she possibly could. At the end though as she started to achieve an orgasm, and they rose into the air above the bed, she was sure that she heard the earth move.

Ten minutes later as they settled back onto the bed again and tried to regain their normal breathing pattern they not only heard the earth move but they felt it also. The earthquake was so strong that Kathleen pulled herself from underneath Sean and grabbed Lil Cordy from the crib. She quickly got back onto the bed and placed a bubble around the bed. The earthquake lasted a good two minutes before everything settled down. When they were sure that it was over both Kathleen and Sean went out to the hallway to see if they had any damage to the hotel. They found everyone else in the hallways also.

Connor and Lou ran up to check on Daniel and Gabby. They found Gabby scared and crying but Daniel had already been through enough earthquakes to not be frightened by it. Connor checked on Kathleen next. When he saw that they were okay they all made their way downstairs. Wesley was already at the TV and checking for any news on the earthquake.

They all gathered around the TV and were all looking for just one thing. After 10 minutes of reporting on other locations around southern California they finally got what they were looking for.

**Reporter: "We had only one major building in downtown Los Angeles succumb to the 6.5 earthquake this Christmas evening. The Wolfram & Hart building collapsed in on itself and as you can see has been completely destroyed. We were able to interview the guards that were in the building when they earthquake hit." Two uniformed guards stepped over to the reporter and the lights. "Can you tell us if anyone else was in the building when the earthquake hit." The reporter asked the guard. "Yes, the three owners of the building were having a short meeting. My partner and I looked for them to come out before the building collapsed but we didn't see anyone. I was able to flip on the fire alarm before we ran out but it all happened too fast. The building started to fall in on itself right after we ran out and got to the front. We knew that they were still in there when we spotted their cars over here."**

**Reporter: "In a way it was fortunate for all of the employees of Wolfram & Hart that this tragedy occurred on Christmas. They might all be out of a job now but they are still alive and it would have been a different story if it had happened on Monday."**

The hotel was quiet for a moment when Wesley turned the TV off. They all just looked at each other and then started shouting for joy. "You did it Kathleen, you did it. That terrible place that caused so much suffering for your father and others has finally been destroyed. It will be a long time before the Senior Partners can set up their business of Evil Incorporated again." Connor came over and picked up his sister and twirled her around. Lil Cordy didn't like all of the commotion though and started showing her disagreement with all of the noise. All and all it was a big and noisy celebration that included all of the dogs bouncing up and down and barking.

One hour later they had all gone back to bed and the hotel was quite once again. It took a long time for everyone to get back to sleep though.

In Wesley and Fred's room they lay awake and talked about their missing friends and how much they missed them. Both Wesley and Fred were in their 60s now and Wesley had been having a few problems with his heart. Scar tissue from the surgeries to repair his heart when he had been shot several times were starting to give him problems. Fred had had a cancer scare when Sean found cancer in her uterus and he had to remove her ovaries and uterus. When Sean told her what he was going to have to do her reply was, "That's okay I don't need them anymore anyway." When her Oncologist wanted to put her through chemo therapy though, after talking with Wesley, she had refused. Her reason for it was that she remembered what Dr. Martin had gone through and what it had done to her and she didn't want to go through the same thing at her age.

"How do you feel about what happened tonight?" Fred asked Wesley as they lay in bed.

"I am happy that that terrible building has finally been destroyed and I know that this will set the Senior Partners way back in their plans." Wesley looked at Fred and pulled her into his arms. "I also think that we will now be allowed to join our friends. Connor is proving to have a long life span. Both Connor and Lou will be around to take care of the family for a long time yet. Kathleen can take care of just about anything that comes along I think. I believe that Lil Cordy will follow in her mother's footsteps also. God has provided future wives for our sons and the rest of the boys. We can finally rest now and not have to worry about the future of Angel Investigations. Let's go to sleep now, us old people need our rest if we are to get through the next day with all of these young people."

**Ten years later**

Saturday morning started late. Connie had already been up and had breakfast ready for everyone. Both Connie and Joaquin no longer worked very often. They were both in their 70's. She would cook only occasionally now. Lou, Kathleen and Joyce took care of most of the cooking and cleaning of the hotel now. Lou now took Fred's place as head of the hotel and in charge of supplying all groceries for the group and handing out work assignments when it came time for the spring and end of summer cleaning. All of the women had been trained in how to cook by Connie so they enjoyed the same type of food that they had all become accustomed to.

Joyce and Tom were expecting their first baby soon. Tom usually spent one to two weeks in England every two months but with their first child's appearance coming so soon he was staying close to home. He was taking care of alll council business from Los Angeles.

Nicky, Mike, David, Bobby and Eddy all worked with Connor in taking care of clients. With the closing down of Wolfram & Hart business had increased and they were all kept very busy. Angel, as Buffy and Spikes youngest son had chosen to be called, was following in his father's footsteps and was going to school to become a doctor. Daniel, Connor and Lou's son was headed for college to gain a degree in law enforcement. He had told his father that he had set his sights on the CIA.

Spike and Hunter were still together. Kathleen had made Spikes' appearance change as the years had gone by so that he appeared to age. Spike only occasionally worked at the hospital now and instead had his own practice that both Hunter and Sean helped him in. Kathleen helped them only when they had to do minor surgery in the office.

Cylindia had remarried and along with her husband had retired to Palm Springs.

Spike, Hunter and Sean still took care of Gunn's Kids and the local police knew that they would help with any sick or injured kids whenever they were needed.

Jeff was now a Navy Seal. Stacy and Jeff were now married and she usually followed him where ever he was stationed. Jeff was currently stationed in Iraq so Stacy was currently living with her parents. David had given the prostitution business to the Vampires that worked for the business so that they now worked for themselves. Connor had made it clear that the same rules applied to them as it did when David owned the business. If there were any clients that complained about how they were treated at the Business, then he would talk to them about the complaint but if it wasn't corrected to his client's satisfaction then he would step in and they would have to deal with him.

Willow and Tara were still together and were still actively running the Magic Shop that Giles had left them. Fr. Max was also frequently asking them to return a Vampires soul.

Fred and Wesley were now in their 70's and had pretty much retired from all of the Angel Investigation business. Mike took over all of the work that Wesley used to do, except for the Watchers Council. Six months after her 74th birthday Fred's cancer came back with a vengeance. Even though Fred was being given a lot of drugs for the pain she stayed at home and in her own bed. Wesley just woke up one morning next to her and found that she was not breathing. After coming back from Ireland where they buried her ashes in the family cemetery Wesley pretty much stayed in his room. The only times they saw him was in the evening at supper or if they went to visit him.

Wesley was having problems with his heart now as a result of all of the operations he had on it when he had been shot. His heart specialist had advised him to have a heart transplant but he had chosen not to go for it. He told Sean that he was tired and wanted to go and be with Fred and his friends.

Six months after Fred passed away Wesley had a massive heart attack. As his sons, their wives, Kathleen and Connor were gathered around his bed Fr. Max gave Wesley the last rites of the Catholic Church. When he was done Wesley called out to Kathleen. "I'm right here Uncle Wesley." She said as she picked up his hand and held it in both of her hands.

"Kathleen, am I going to go to heaven when I leave this world?" Wesley asked in a weak voice. "No one but God knows that Uncle Wesley, but you know Daddy, he'll probably call in some favors and pull another rabbit out of his hat and get you in." She said with a smile. "I hope so, I do so want to see him again. I have been afraid that since I didn't love my father like I should have that I won't be allowed to be with everyone as soon as I leave here. You'll pray for me won't you?" "Yes Uncle Wesley. I'll pray every day until I know you are in Paradise with Jesus." "Thank you. Take care of my sons for me." "I will Uncle Wesley. You don't have to worry about them. They have both grown up to be good men like their Father and from you they learned how to be good fathers also." Kathleen pushed back the hair that had fallen into his eyes. "Sleep now Uncle Wesley. I promise that you will feel much better when you wake up again." "Yes, I think I'll sleep for awhile now. I am so tired."

Within the next few minutes the alarm on the monitors went off and Sean turned them off. He gave Kathleen a chair to sit down in as she pulled her Rosary out of her purse. She was 8 months pregnant with their 5th child now and tired easily. He then went outside to let everyone know that Wesley had expired and they could come in. As Kathleen had done for Fred she started to say the prayer for Divine Mercy, then the Rosary. Everyone followed along with her. At the end she said "Please Heavenly Father take Uncle Wesley into your arms and welcome him to Paradise. No matter what he thought of himself I know that he was a good man." As she finished everyone answered with an Amen. Everyone but David, Bobby and their wives left then.

"Let's go home now Sean. We have to tell the children about their Uncle Wesley." Kathleen said as she rubbed her stomach. Sean put his arm around his wife's shoulders and took her home after he signed the death certificate.

The next evening it was very quiet at the supper table. Cylindia, her husband, Father Gunn and Jeff, who had been able to get an emergency furlough had arrived in the afternoon when they heard about Wesley. They were just having their last cup of coffee when they felt a cool breeze go through the lobby and into the dining room. They all immediately looked towards the stairs.

Just as they usually did Angel and Cordelia came down the stairs together. This time though they were followed by Wesley, Fred, Gunn, and Buffy and for the first time Dr. Martin and Giles. Everyone at the table stood up. As they approached the dining room Angel said "Please, everyone, sit down." After everyone sat down Angel took a step forward. "We have been given permission to see you. This is the last time that you will see all of us. Kathleen's main mission in life has been completed and the evil that lived in the Wolfram & Hart building has been destroyed. You will now just continue to help the hopeless as we did so many years ago. Kathleen Dr. Martin will continue to be your guide and advisor but you will no longer see us until you join us. We are all very proud of all of you and we know that Angel Investigation has been left in very capable hands. Buffy came forward then and said "Thank you for taking care of my William Hunter. I am happy that he has you to keep him company." Buffy stepped back then and stood beside Giles.

Kathleen spoke up then. "I see you made it Uncle Wesley." "Yes I did. Jesus was waiting for me just as He had for Angel. He told me that it was not my fault that my father didn't allow me to love him as I should have been able to do. Oh, and Spike, remember what we had wondered about when we died?" Spike didn't know what he was talking about at first then it suddenly dawned on him. "Do you get too?" Spike asked. With a big grin on his face Wesley just raised his eyebrows a couple of times and said "Ohh yes, indeed we do." He turned and gave Fred a kiss. "Well Buffy, our mansion had better have strong pillars because when I get there we'll give it a good test." Spike said. From the table you immediately heard Joyce say, "Daddy, shame on you." While Kathleen said "Uncle Spike!" Spike was becoming more human so his face turned a bright red. Everyone just laughed at him.

"You'll never change Spike." Angel said as Spike just hid his grin behind his hand and napkin.

"Sean I will continue to guide you. Thank you for taking care of my princes." Angel, Cordelia, Gunn, Wesley, Fred, Buffy, Giles and Dr. Martin turned then and walked back up the stairs and they were gone for the last time.

In the years to come Kathleen would hear Dr. Martin and occasionally see her in her dreams as she advised her on how to help others and keep them on, as the saying goes, the straight and narrow. After the birth of their 5th child Sean took birth control into his own hands. When he asked Spike to perform the vasectomy on him he said "If I don't do this then Kathleen will fill up this whole hotel with our children." "Well Cordelia did say that once that girl gets herself a man she is going to start having babies just like a regular bunny." Spike said with a grin. "No thanks, five is enough. I practically have to make an appointment with her to get some alone time for us."

Kathleen was happy with all of her children. Both Connor and Kathleen could always be found telling the children in the hotel about the original Angel Investigation crew. They didn't intend for them to ever be forgotten. One day Kathleen found her youngest son staring at the picture of his grandmother and grandfather that was in the Lobby. "Mommy, I saw that lady last night when I went to sleep." Connor came up behind them as Tommy was talking to his mother. "You did. What did she say to you?" Kathleen asked her son. "She told me to be a good boy because if Daddy can spank like Grandpa can than I'll be sorry if I ever get in trouble again. Then she rubbed her butt and walked away. I wonder what she meant when she said that." Connor spoke up then.

Connor took Tommy's hand and pulled him over to the couch. "I have to tell you what she meant by that Tommy because your Mommy was just a baby when it happened." "What happened?" Tommy asked. "Well before your Aunt Lou and I got married your Grandma kept on telling her how she could get me to kiss her. I asked your Grandpa to tell your Grandma to stop it. Your Grandma didn't stop though and I had to tell your Grandpa that she was still being a bad girl and telling Aunt Lou how to get me to kiss her. Do you know what your Grandpa did then?" "He spanked her?" "He sure did. Five times, whack, whack, whack, whack, whack." Connor made like he was spanking someone. "Did she cry?" "Well to tell you the truth I don't know, but what I do know is that your Grandma had to sit on a pillow the rest of the day. So if you don't do what your Mommy and Daddy tell you, the next time your Daddy just might have to do the same thing." Tommy looked at his mother and said "I don't want Daddy to spank me like that Mommy. I promise to do my best to be good, okay Mommy? Can you tell Daddy that Mommy?" "Okay, I'll tell him that you will try your best to be good. Why don't you go and play upstairs now until your brothers and sister get out of school." Tommy ran up the stairs as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Connor and Kathleen stood side by side and watched him run up the stairs.

"Do you still think he is your Little Angel?" Connor asked his sister as he put his arm around her shoulder. "Yes I do, Daddy had me for his little Princes, Sean has Cordy for his very own Princes and I have my

Little Angel.

The End


End file.
